


Ordinary Days

by Zhampy



Category: Oban Star-Racers
Genre: Avatar Jordan, Crogs, Dead Parent, Dog - Freeform, F/M, Family, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, M/M, Mild Blood, OCs are here OH NO, Original Character(s), P-PLOT?, Post-Canon, Post-Oban, Sickfic, Slice of Life, Two Dads, Underage Drinking, baby eva, bit of drama/angst, chair shenanigans, don will stop being a bitch AGAIN, don will stop being a bitch now, don's being a bitch again, eva really hates school, eva will get a pet..., eva's THROWING HANDS, home shopping channel (v important character), it only took 19 chapters BUT AIKKA IS HERE, jordeva INTENSIFIES, maya's family HC, obligatory mario kart, one day..., para dice voice I'M IN, rick has a HOBBY, rick will be a househusband!, rick/don HINTS, rickdon INTENSIFIES, that's NEARLY a job!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 16:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 76,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17984444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhampy/pseuds/Zhampy
Summary: Moments of Eva's life with her strange post-Oban family! Mostly light and goofy stuff. Sometimes a family is a girl, her moody dad, her cool dad and a frequent house guest god of the galaxy. In this house we love this mishmash family.





	1. Eva

She's settled into school somewhat well. It's boring but necessary, and at least her new school isn't as oppressive or authoritative as Stern was, though it is quite snooty and finding any down-to-Earth people she has anything in common with is a difficult task. But after a prolonged ~~argument~~ discussion this was the school she and her father had eventually agreed on.

It's a school for children of wealthy parents. Now she can look back at her initial interview and laugh at the horrified expression on the headmistress' face when she first saw Eva's dyed hair, tattoos and piercings, and her dad's desperate attempts to not draw attention to it. But Don's social standing did ultimately allow her entrance and she did agree to not wear the piercings during school hours.

Sometimes when school has finished for the day and she's waiting for her dad to pick her up she watches her classmates. Watches their parents arrive in a conga line of cars to collect them without a single worry or dark thought. And sometimes when she watches them she thinks Don won't turn up this time, that she'll be abandoned again just as her new life was beginning. Her classmates don't understand these gloomy moments that occasionally overcome her; from their perspective she has a normal life, without a mother, true, but her dad is always there. From their perspective she is unwilling to correct them. But Don arrives at the exact same time, everyday and she doesn't quite know if this is because he's trying extra hard or if it's just because he's a punctual person. She doesn't want to ask. 

The drive from school to home is actually the most personal time for them. There are no distractions and neither of them can escape should a conversation go awry. Her dad always asks how she's feeling and about how her day went and she provides him with all the juicy teen gossip that probably just goes in one ear and out the other. Apparently the hot topic is one of the boys in her year still has a nanny and he accidentally called her 'mother' at assembly.

Don smiles and says, “I wish you would make some friends, Eva.”

“But they're all so snooty!” Eva pouts.

Though it was frustrating she discovered she had trouble meeting new people and making friends. She had never had a real friend in a relaxed social setting in all the time she could remember and learning new social skills at her age was not easy, especially when her father had spent the last ten years of his own life deliberately pushing people away so he couldn't provide much help either.

Thankfully she also had some less messy people in her life. Stan and Koji had returned to Miguel from whom they where originally poached. Their team averaged middling-to-low in the ranks and Eva imagined that without the pair Miguel would be ranked dead last judging by how disorganised and casual he was. But one thing she admired about him was his hands-on attitude.

The mess suited her anyway and she began after-school work experience in their hanger. Not only was it interesting and mechanics was her passion, but she was also scoring extra credit at school. Maths and physics where her speciality, but literature and geography where her weakness that dragged down her overall grade. She's also grateful for Stan and Koji's willingness to listen to her complaints.

She goes by 'Eva' again, but the ex-members of the Earth Team still call her 'Molly' at her request. Despite the baggage of the name it's comfortable and it feels like their own personal story. As a team they experienced so much that it felt wrong to drop it; if people ask her about it she just smiles and says it's complicated.

The pair of mechanics had expressed surprise she would want to work with them specifically, and she had explained she needed some personal space. Stan and Koji had been nothing but consistent with their support during the latter races and they joked that 'Team Dad' was missing out on a superb mechanic.

She knows it flusters her dad when she calls Wei Race 'Team Dad', so she does it more and more, especially in public, and especially when Rick joins in now knowing Don isn't going to explode in any genuine manner anymore. Absolutely no one at Wei Race would dare say it however, because Don is still kind of a tyrant at work by all accounts.

And speaking of Rick… the former racing pro had confided in her that closely following his return to Earth he had begun to sink into some semblance of depression. Their reunion had certainly been dramatic with Rick storming into her house with the explicit intention to kick her dad's butt. He spent a lot of time with them these days, probably while he was still soul-searching for a new career, and she was happy to spend the time with him.

When life offered her a break, however, her mind wandered. To other friends who weren't with them right now. It was strange being back on Earth. Everything suddenly felt so small and mundane. Her new life just beginning was exciting (and a little scary), but now she was so much more aware of the life that existed outside of their own little planet.

She thinks about Aikka and wonders how his people are dealing with the Crogs. It was never an open invasion of Nourasia so their planet never received a ceasefire order from the then-Avatar; she wonders with dread how the Imperium are pulling the strings behind the scenes. And, as just a regular person now, she has no way of getting in contact with a planet that far removed from Earth since their long range communication operations were seized by the government upon arriving back on Earth. She can only worry about her friend from across the galaxy.

And then thinking of the Avatar… Jordan. Her dear team mate who had saved her way of life with his selfless and unpredictable action. She thinks of how lonely it must be, isolated far away from his friends and loved ones, like her experience at the boarding school only magnified on a galaxy-sized scale. Could he ever visit? She wonders how powerful he's become. What does he spend his time doing? Does he even experience time in the same manner as her? Does he… think of her?

A ringing bell shocked her out of her musings. End of school, finally! She shoved her books into her bag haphazardly and dashed out of the classroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eva has a lot going on. The character introduction chapters are a bit moody so probably not a good indication of the overall tone here LOL There will be Eva's, Don's and Rick's before the fun chapters begin.


	2. Don

The headmistress of the Stern Boarding School is almost bent-double with apologies and excuses regarding Eva's disappearance when he arrives. The school itself is as depressing and foreboding as he had tried not to remember, and Eva is eager to collect her few possessions and leave as soon as possible. He silently agrees.

When Eva is out of hearing distance he thanks the staff for keeping her safe, her numerous breakouts notwithstanding.

Eva was shouting at the other children and he's not really surprised at her colourful language, but he's in no current position to criticise it either. Not yet anyway. Apparently the other kids really did think she was an orphan, and it's not that he didn't believe her when she said the same back on Oban, but it's a direct kind of hurt to witness it in person. He has to tell her to calm down and she makes a very obvious point of calling him 'dad' repeatedly.

When they leave she's clutching a single suitcase possessively and is reluctant to even part with it when in the car. The things in it are all she has in the world, bought with the allowance that was automatically deducted from his account, of which his eyes had always skipped when reading bank statements. But now they're finally going home together.

It's not the same home they once lived in and it's in a part of the city Eva had never even been close to, but he hopes she will be comfortable all the same. It's a moderately sized building with a disproportionately large garage area Eva immediately announces her plans to build a new rocket-seat in, and he is genuinely interested is watching her build one from scratch. Heaven forbid he's going to let her near an actual, functional star-racer cockpit ever again.

They speak about Eva's mother and his wife, Maya, of course. It's difficult and extremely awkward. He expressed his immense regret that all of their original belongings had been repossessed sometime in those five years he had been a mess, and that included their house too. The photos they both carry, two copies of the same scene, are all that remains as a physical memento of Maya.

When he returns to work the curiosity is almost palpable, hanging over the hanger like cigarette smoke. Everyone is desperate to know what happened but obviously no one dares to bring it up or gossip amongst themselves, especially not when he is within at least 50 feet of the entire complex at any time.

It's understandable. The President of Earth pays him a personal visit, then with absolutely no explanation, the very next day, he's gone, leaving the running of the team to the ground manager. A month goes by and by all accounts he's dropped off the face of the planet, then one day, with no warning, he's suddenly back with a daughter (!?) and a slightly better attitude.

He still works them into the ground of course, Wei Race has a reputation to keep! But he can't hide from life and overwork himself anymore which naturally bleeds into the general culture of the team. Especially when Eva is there gasping and chattering with stars in her eyes at each piece of machinery she is seeing in person for the first time. The mechanics are amazed with her knowledge and he feels distantly proud that Eva is such a bright girl. 

Whenever she spends time at the hanger after school (he doesn't allow it too often) she returns home visibly inspired and discusses what she wants to do with her life. He's not sure if he's subtle enough with it but he tries to steer her away from piloting and towards mechanics. But when the topic of races comes up it resurrects memories from Oban and with that the subject of Jordan.

Whenever the subject of Jordan comes up he can only think of how the boy saved Eva from becoming the next Avatar and he feels nothing but immense relief, which quickly turns into self-loathing when he realises what a monster he is. As the manager it was his responsibility to keep everyone safe regardless of the circumstances, so that he feels the way he does is beyond shameful.

But Eva is proud of her friend and team mate; she talks about him as if he was still with them and Don can do little more than curl his hand into a fist he's unwilling to punch himself with because he tells himself he's past that nonsense now.

Sometimes he feels like he has to turn up on the Wilde's doorstep with an explanation and an apology like an army Major reporting that their son died in the line of duty. Of course this is impossible. If any of them were to speak a single word about Oban the government would converge on them instantly and he was confident they'd be 'disappeared' with little fuss.

All that is out of his control. So the only thing he cares about anymore is life with his daughter.

He's said those words…

“I love you.”

A few times and Eva has cried (and maybe he has too), but she hasn't said them back and that's fine. He hopes to hear it one day.

But, and he looked at the clock on his computer screen, it was time to pick Eva up from school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't write from Don's POV ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	3. Rick

He was back on Earth much sooner than any of them had planned, particularly himself. The second his feet had touched Earth soil the government where all over him. A horde of suited men had taken him to a secret location in the dead of night to speak with the Earth President personally.

At that point in time he was still confused and his emotions where in turmoil, so this show of secrecy and power did little to impress him and he was not suitably cowed by the presentation. He could plainly see the President was not happy with that as he casually retold the tales of the Earth Team's races on Alwas. His retelling of the events was almost robotic—lacking any of his regular Thunderbolt charm—and he made sure to not reveal any of the personal details he had uncovered.

The President didn't seem to care that a random child (actually not-so-random—holy shit!) was the new Earth Team's pilot, only that whoever it was could win. Some bitterness had begun to boil within him then, as if he had been casually cast aside akin to an injured racehorse that had outlived its use and was to be put down.

He supposed the President only cared to corroborate Don Wei's reports as the truth. So shortly after that brief abduction he was sworn to secrecy under no-so-subtle threat, to never speak of the Oban competition again and unceremoniously dumped back into the middle of nowhere.

Then what was he to do with his life?

From that moment on his only manner of knowing the race had ended was the reappearance of Don Wei so, as unwilling as he was to actually visit the Wei Race complex again, he did keep close tabs on the place.

His racing career was over. As short as it had been—only five years—it had become the cornerstone of his life. His entire life was a roller coaster of failure and success; from his beginnings as a useless punk racing in the desert to being discovered by Don and them both building their lives up around racing. He was the best racer in the business during that time, then his and Don's falling out happened, and after his subsequent firing he dropped in the ranks... but racing was still his life. Grand Prix and Minor League Championship titles where more than the majority of pilots could aspire to...

Clenching a fist he punched the wall, repeatedly until his gloves had torn and his knuckles had begun to bleed, and that had begun an unfortunate spiral down into depression. Now that he was alone back home, with no distractions like coaching Molly to be a more efficient pilot the reality of life began to sink in.

He officially retired whilst the Earth Team where still on Oban. The press went wild with speculation none of which could ever come close to the true reason for why. His doctors, a far cry from the alien medicine practised on Alwas, prescribed him medication for the nerve damage and pain killers.

Sometime later into his self-imposed isolation he got word that the Earth Team had returned. A few weeks after that news dropped he began to receive calls from Don Wei's home number. He ignored every call. Then shortly after that he began receiving persistent calls from an unknown number but he ignored those too, and then more from Don's home.

Finally he had grown tired of the harassment and thrown on a coat over his dishevelled appearance and caught a ride over to the Wei residence. Knowing the garage was always open he stormed in with heavy footsteps making as much noise as possible, shouting.

“Don Wei, get your bastard self out here so I can kick your ass! Stop calling me!”

A head popped up from a beyond-wreaked racer's cockpit and the next thing he knew a small body was hugging him around the waist.

“Rick! You got my calls? I missed you so much!” Eva was hugging him tightly. The force of her tackle had almost knocked him over.

“Molly—Little Mouse…?” He looked down at Eva, dumbfounded. He was too shocked to move. This was not the encounter he had expected. “Your calls?”

“Yeah! But dad said you might have changed your number or something.” Eva stood back and searched through her phone with a pink rabbit cover. She showed him the screen, “this is you number, right?”

That was his number alright, and this was probably the unknown caller who kept harassing him. But before he could reply Don came into the garage.

“What's all the noise, did you—oh,” Don paused and looked at Rick knowingly. “You look rough,” he said.

And if Eva hadn't been there he would've punched the man. The last thing he needed was pity from Don fucking Wei.

So that was his life as it currently stood. He still hadn't found another job, but he had been wise with his money so life was still comfortable. He found himself spending an inordinate amount of time at the Wei residence, which was usually empty during the week with Eva at school and Don at work so he had a lot of time to think. Eva got him up to date with the events that happened on the planet Oban and life as it currently was for her. So maybe everything wasn't perfect but he was comfortable, and watching Eva wrap Don around her little finger was much more entertaining than being alone at home with a bottle of booze he wasn't supposed to mix with his meds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Rick. I don't know if he really would be the sort to get depressed for any length of time and he probably actually has a lot of other friends. I just really like the idea of Uncle Rick spending too much time with the Weis LOL


	4. Reconnecting

He was better put together this time, when he approached the house. Less shabby and tired-looking, and more like his old self. Don's house was in an affluent area but had lots of space and privacy around so he didn't have to worry about neighbours growing suspicious that he'd been standing on the doorstep for ten minutes at such a late hour with unclear intentions.

His hand trembled just before he hit the door causing a bubble of frustration to bloom in his gut. Instead his pressed the doorbell with his other hand.

It was finally time for some closure.

“Rick, hello,” Don greeted him as the door opened. “What a surprise. Thank you for using the front door this time.”

Off to a great start with the sarcasm. He entered the house that he hadn't visited for over a year but the routine was still familiar; shoes off at the door, slippers on inside. Everything seemed to be the same as it ever had been as he followed Don to his office.

Don leant against his desk, arms folded and looked at him.

“You left Alwas in an awful hurry.” It wasn't said with an accusatory tone, more of a basic statement. He couldn't disagree.

“I did, yeah.”

“Some forward warning would have been appreciated.”

“Probably, yeah.”

“That was an unprofessional manoeuvre. The team was improving tremendously—your presence would have helped the Oban races run much smoother. Not to mention your lacklustre—“

“Life comes at you fast,” Rick cut in and he could see Don was perplexed by the comment. He'd learnt that the only way to get the man to shut up and listen was to confuse him.

Don rubbed between his eyes in frustration. “Do you have something to say, Rick?”

“You had a fantastic new pilot,” he started. A replacement—it still rang bitter in his mind to think like that. Don narrowed his eyes. “My work was done, there was nothing left for me to do. That crash was the end of everything.”

“It was very unfortunate,” the comment sounded insincere but he wasn't so sure.

They had spent five years together, and he liked to think of himself as someone with a keen eye who was good at reading others. But he had never been able to decipher how Don genuinely felt about him; whether the man cared for him as a person or simply as a tool for winning. He certainly had never learnt of Don's past pre-Alwas despite offering up his own life story on a silver platter when prompted to. What a fool he had been back then.

As a manager Don was the best in the business. In a professional setting he had the insight and the perceptiveness to coach and bring out the innate talent in a team and particularly a pilot. But dealing with him on a personal level was a nightmare.

“You're a selfish person,” he went on. “You take a lot but you never give. Do you know how exhausting that is?”

He could see Don's eye twitch as if barely holding back some snide comment, but he continued before he gave the man time.

“And once you've exhausted someone of their usefulness you abandon them! You throw away anyone you judge to be a nuisance. Sounds familiar.”

Don couldn't mask his reaction to that and Rick knew it was a harsh blow but it had to be said if they were going to get anywhere.

“We're not talking about Eva, she has nothing to do with this!”

“She has lots to do with this!”

Felt strange hearing Molly referred to by her real name even when it was coming from her actual father. What a mess.

“I know what you're like; we worked together for years. I knew what to expect when I accepted that invite, but you pushed that girl to the edge. She broke her back trying to impress you!”

Don growled, curling his hands into fists and started shaking.

“You treated her terribly.”

“ _I know!_ ”

Don slammed the desk with his fist. It probably hurt like hell.

“I know...” he put his face in his hands. “Eva told me everything.”

Rick gave it a moment before speaking up again. “When did you find out about her?”

“On Oban,” Don answered curtly, clearly not intending to elaborate. “… thank you for watching over her as you did.”

He snorted, a rather undignified response. Nothing more was said between them for a long while and he supposed this would be the ideal time to take his leave. Before...

“I am selfish, yes,” Don agreed quietly. “I would sacrifice the world for Eva. Part way into the competition McMullen finally informed me of the danger Earth faced and why we must win the Ultimate Prize at any cost. I don't know how much the Earth Coalition has told you, but I trust you understand it's highly confidential that we were on the brink of war and would likely lose. During the Oban cycle when I discovered it was my daughter who was risking her life for Earth I immediately tried to withdraw from the race despite knowing this would doom the world.”

Rick raised both his eyebrows.

“I could not bear to see Eva suffering for me—for us—and I could not bear to lose her in the same way I lost my wife. But I realised I had forfeit any parental guidance after what I had done, so I could not stop her. However, should a similar situation occur now...”

A momentary pause.

“... I would not hesitate again to choose Eva's life over every other life on Earth.”

He looked at Rick with a serious and unwavering gaze, and Rick could feel the selfish need of a father who would protect their child above all else.

“I won't make excuses for my actions these past few years,” the man continued with a sigh.

Rick very much doubted that.

Don squared his shoulders. “I'm sorry.”

“Whoa.” His jaw almost hit the floor. Talk about one of the universe's most unlikely events occurring before his very eyes. “Wait a sec, lemme get my phone I gotta get this on camera. Okay, say it again.”

“If you're going to be immature I’ll retract my statement,” Don glared at the camera being pointed at him.

Rick stooped recording. This had certainly not been what he had expected. His simple plan of arriving, saying his piece and then getting thrown out effectively cutting Don out of his life entirely seemed to have hit a little snag.

Despite everything they did have a history.

Their relationship was a rollercoatser of intoxicating highs and explosive lows. The cycle was continuing with this new low and he was still strapped in for the ride. Maybe he was still a fool...

“Apology accepted,” he said cooly and he could see some tension visibly leave Don's body. “You know, I came here with a lot to say but you always manage to get out ahead of me. It's really annoying sometimes.”

“You're free to continue to speak your mind,” Don replied warily.

“Mmmm, nah, I’m good with this for now,” he sighed in defeat. “You're a real piece of work, Don Wei.”

“I apologise,” Don said again, tersely. “It's difficult—“

“No excuses,” Rick interrupted.

Don sucked in a breath through his teeth. “No excuses,” he repeated.

Then he turned his back and busied himself with sorting through random drawers with an air that suggested he definitely was _not_ sulking, and Rick supposed that was the best he would ever get.

Next to try and find his second target, which honestly wasn't hard as he went straight for the garage where he had unexpectedly encountered Molly before. His hunch was correct when he passed through the small connecting room and found the girl working quietly. The door was conspicuously open so she had probably been eavesdropping.

He stood there for a moment, temporarily at a loss for words. This whole situation was out of his comfort zone. Molly seemed to find her voice before he did.

“I heard you and dad shouting,” she admitted quietly.

“Yeah, sorry...”

He took a glance around the garage. Molly was working on the same wreaked star-racer she had jumped out of when he had come storming into the house only a few days earlier. The vehicle was well beyond saving, he could tell that much, and it seemed like she was taking it to pieces and salvaging parts.

“So what're you building here?” he asked to try and lighten the mood but Molly didn't reply. “Little mouse?”

She dropped the spanner she was holding on the floor and it made far too much noise in the quiet garage. “I'm mad at you too, y'know...”

“Huh?”

Molly muttered something too quiet for him to properly hear and she hadn't looked at him even once since he had entered the garage either.

“Molly?”

“You abandoned me too!” she shouted and span around with enough force she had to steady herself. There were angry tears in her eyes on the verge of spilling over.

He groaned and shook his head. “Molly—“

“My name is _Eva_ ,” she interrupted bitterly.

“Right, yeah,” scratching the back of his neck he tried to find the right words. “I was dead weight. There was nothing else for me to do; you were an awesome pilot, so—“

“I don't want excuses! I trusted you and you left me! You didn't even say goodbye!” the tears began spilling over. “I had to chase you down...”

That was true. Though he had, had his own concerns at the time, Molly—Eva was just a fifteen year-old girl, lost, on a strange planet struggling to earn he father's recognition and approval in a dangerous situation. He'd become close to her and betrayed her trust in a similar manner due to his own self-centredness and personal issues. He could've gone to Oban, could've continued to be her rock but chose to return to his own life instead. Boy, kids were difficult...

“I was so worried when you didn't answer my calls… I thought you hated me for going to Oban instead of you...”

He quickly walked over and rested his hand on her head reassuringly. “I'm sorry,” he said, looking down at her.

“… I-I’m sorry too,” Eva replied solemnly, though she still wouldn't look at him.

This poor girl had a lot of unreliable adults in her life and he could add himself to that list as well. Perhaps it really would be for the best if he left too, permanently. He wasn't certain what life had in store for him and he didn't want to string her along again if circumstances suddenly whisked him away. She needed friends her own age and a stable home life...

“I really did miss you, y'know...” she rubbed her arms self-consciously. “It was hard but… I really am grateful for what you did for me. Thank you, Rick.”

She gave him a bright smile and a thumbs-up.

“Well, look who's back to normal, huh,” he held his head up high, cool persona slipping back into place. He couldn't stay around and hurt her again. “I'm glad to see you're doin' alright. Don't cause too much trouble for Don, okay?”

“Rick?” she looked up quizzically, perhaps detecting his ultimate intentions.

“Maybe just a little trouble.”

As he stepped back she took a few uncertain steps towards him.

“Where are you…?”

“I'll see ya around, Eva. Maybe,” he flashed a lazy peace sign and made his exit before she could respond.

It was for the best.

He went to stand outside the garage and call a ride, but the door was still ajar when he heard Don enter. He could hear them talking together but couldn't quite make out about what exactly, before Don deliberately raised his voice.

“I don't think Rick had a very pleasant visit.”

And Eva started laughing, and Don started laughing and he felt like he was in the damn Twilight Zone or something.

“Rick!” Eva shouted and her head popped out from around the door. “Please come back...”

Their intentions were clear. Well, it was cold and dark out. Could even start raining and he wasn't about to stay outside cowering under the eves of the house waiting for his ride to arrive, so he followed her back inside. If they wanted a useless lump like him around, well, that was their bizarre problem, Eva would likely just hound him with calls every spare minute of her day anyway. Don was making drinks in the kitchen and handed him one as a peace offering as if from this point on it's a new start to a new life.

So he accepted and with a good-natured but exaggerated sigh he ruffled Eva's hair much to her protest and sat down to drink. He got the impression life wouldn't be boring at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost wrote “Don rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration”… are we allowed to mention noses? IS THAT ALLOWED?
> 
> Also just assume that Eva and Don got the bulk of their problems sorted off-screen. That shit's way too heavy for me to try writing LOL I just want to get to the funtime chapters soon.


	5. Redecorating

She had been given permission to redecorate. That had been Don's first mistake; he had been referring to her bedroom only, but now the teenager was surveying the entire house, so lesson learnt. Next time: be more specific. But the genie was out of the bottle now so he could hardly deny her.

"This whole house needs a makeover," was her ultimate decision. "It's boring and empty, I can even hear an echo in here!"

Eva was stood in the main sitting room, surveying the area, hands on hips looking authoritative whilst Don sat watching and Rick provided a running commentary. She began pointing out areas that could use more life and/or colour, where potential pictures could go, more furniture (a bigger TV!), and other basic household upgrades that would make the place look more friendly and warm.

"Don's shaking," Rick pointed out.

"Wrong!" the man blurted.

"Hmm, we should start with something simple, like some plants..." Eva continued planning aloud to herself, not really paying attention to anyone else.

It was obvious Eva was creating the perfect family home she had fantasised about whilst living at the Stern Boarding School, and it was also clear that Don would be enabling her within certain budget restraints.

"We already have a plant," Don said.

"A plant," Rick repeated. "A single plant. And it's a cactus. In your office."

"Yes?" Don replied, clearly not seeing any issue. "Cacti are simple to maintain and they flower in winter, so that's nice."

"I can't believe you have a  _cactus_ ," Rick shook his head, the symbolism was almost painful. "No, actually I can, that's significantly on brand for you."

Don sprung to his feet with an angry face, but before he could spit any rude comments Eva turned her attention back to them.

"Dad!" As soon as Eva called him that any trace of anger left him instantly. "I'm gonna write a list of ideas, see what you think! We've got a lotta work to do!"

Without waiting for a response Eva ran off back to her room upstairs with enthusiastic speed. Rick watched her go with a smile then turned back when he heard Don fall down into his chair again. He let the moment simmer for a bit before…

"You're—"

"Don't," Don growled, "you dare."

Rick chuckled to himself.

The next morning, Eva laughed at him when she saw him on their doorstep in disguise. He was wearing clothes very atypical for himself, nothing a regular person would consider suspicious, but certainly not what one would expect Rick Thunderbolt to dress in.

"Rick, what is—?" was all Eva managed to get out between bouts of laughter.

"Incognito," he simply said, tapping his head.

They were going on a shopping trip for supplies to redecorate so if he wanted to cause them as little hassle as possible he'd need a disguise. He wondered how long he'd have to keep doing this now that he'd retired from star-racing? The paparazzi were fickle and his fame should wane fairly quickly, but until that actually happened he'd have to continue with the disguises.

Don came over with the car keys and herded them both out of the house as Eva looked between them incredulously regarding her dad's complete non-reaction to the fact that Rick was wearing golf pants.

" _Ummmm_ _?"_  she indicated Rick, moving her arms back and forth in disbelief.

"Splendid disguise, you put a lot of effort into this one," Don said, misunderstanding the situation and seemingly thinking Eva was prompting him to give a compliment.

" _What?"_  Eva reacted predictably. "This is  _normal?"_

Normally he would have basked in the attention and adoration his fame brought but now life wasn't the same, and in any case, he did appreciate privacy. Sometimes a guy just wanted to go out and get bubble tea without being hassled. Now his main concern was that he didn't want to draw unnecessary, stressful attention to Eva and Don as they were still getting comfortable with this new life. Don himself was much more lowkey famous; only those heavy into star-racing would recognise him and they'd certainly be the types to know of his reputation and to stay the hell away. Eva didn't have anything to fear from the press. Yet.

With a grin Eva got her phone out and took a picture of him. He sighed, there was no escape.

* * *

"Eva, watch where you're going or you'll trip," Don said as Eva struggled to walk, carry bags, eat  _and_  drink all at the same time whilst trying not to bump into other shoppers.

At the mall they were both walking ahead of him but they were all similarly burdened down with bags already. He'd been told that the house makeover also extended to Eva's wardrobe and an extra pair of hands would be needed.

It was still early, relatively speaking, after Oban and into Eva's new school year so she didn't have any friends yet. Rick knew this worried Don but it was the sort of thing that took time and the girl was perfectly happy to spend time with her dad and dad's friend. They must have looked like a very strange bunch at the mall.

Eva spent most of the time holed up in a small shop in the far corner of the mall that sold faux-aesthetic underground punk fashion. Rick could admire the style but Don looked like he might have a stroke at any moment yet managed to keep his mouth shut all the same. An assistant followed them around the shop at the ready to help a customer that looked to be poised to spend lots of money.

Spinning a display case of jewellery around, Rick pointed out a chocker with large spikes. "Little mouse, found something perfect for ya!"

"That looks like a dog collar," Don was unimpressed.

"Not big enough!" Eva called over. Don's eyes widened.

Next Rick toyed with a packet of cheap ear gauges. "Ever thought about stretching?" he asked her nonchalantly.

"No!" Don interrupted.

A secret grin passed between them as he and Eva competed to see who could get the most visceral reaction out of Don.

"Nah, not in fashion anymore," Eva replied to the relief of her dad. She held up a shirt that depicted a black and white bear bleeding pink blood. "How's this?"

"How about a nice dress?" Don instead suggested desperately.

"What kind of dress?"

"One from… not here?"

"Nice try, dad," Eva scoffed. "I want those boots!"

She pointed to some tall, chunky boots; black with a red and purple cheque pattern. Shaking his head, Don walked off to a different part of the shop before he said something he'd regret. Rick thought he heard a comment  _"…was such a cute baby too..."._

"This song is awful," Don told him, referring to the music playing throughout the shop over the speakers.

"It enhances the shopping experience."

"It de-enhances it," Don grumbled. "I can barely hear myself think."

Rick could only shrug.

"Having quite the blow-out, huh?" the assistant observed as they grabbed a box from a top shelf containing the boots in Eva's size.

"We're redecorating," Eva said, happy to speak to someone different even if that person was only being nice with the hope of a good commission hanging over their head.

"Good taste," the person said whilst holding the box hostage. "Expensive but folks will def be jealous when they see you in them!"

"I don't really want that," Eva replied uncomfortably. "I kinda just wanted to freak out my dad."

"Speaking of, your dads look like they're having fun," an assistant said with amusement to Eva, inclining their head in the direction of the men.

Eva turned around to see Rick holding some earrings with a green alien design up to Don's ears who slapped his hand away. She knew Rick would be having fun but his current  _'_ _middle class golf player_ _'_ disguise would fool anyone into thinking he looked out of place in such a shop. Her dad was very obviously out of place... wait—

"They're not my dads—!" her head spun back around to the clerk. "Well, dad is my dad but not—c-can I just try these shoes on!?"

"So you're here with two strange men," emphasis on the 'strange' the assistant teased. "Do I need to call security?"

"No! Just gimmie the boots!" Eva paused a moment to calm down like Rick had advised her to in the past when things got a bit overwhelming. "Please."

Ignoring the assistant, Eva tried on the boots. They'd suit her other clothing choices well but wouldn't be a good fit for anything casual. Maybe when she had made some school friends she could wear them if they went out to the park or whatever teens their age did these days, Rick didn't know.

"Dad, can we buy these?" Eva called out, beckoning him over.

"I thought they weren't—"

"Thank you!" Eva interrupted the clerk when Don begrudgingly got a card out to pay.

Rick had heard the whole thing and observed Eva's reaction carefully. She looked tense.

* * *

A few days after the trip to the mall when Rick dropped in for another visit to the Wei household; he entered the usually clinically tidy house by stumbling over a box placed right in the doorway. He fell into the entrance hall with a thud and laid there stunned for a moment. Even from his position on the floor he could see the upheaval that was occurring.

He carefully walked by the stacked boxes and made his way into the sitting area where he found Don standing over a beanbag chair and scowling at it like it had force fed him a lemon.

The man didn't even wait for Rick to verbally announce his appearance before he started complaining. "What is this monstrosity?"

"It's a purple beanbag chair," Rick answered.

"I know what it is, it was a rhetorical question!" Don snapped.

Rick surveyed the room. Evidentially the things they had ordered had arrived (and more?) and he could tell now that the items where physically in the house Don was having second thoughts about everything. He nonchalantly dropped into the beanbag chair and sank halfway into it, which only served to make Don look even more uncomfortable about the thing.

Eva chose that moment to enter the room. "Rick! Are you here to give us your opinion?"

"Say what?"

"Maybe you can decide for us," the girl continued and flashed him some colour swatches. Ah, so they were deciding on new colours for the walls.

Eva gathered him and Don around as she held up the examples to the wall. He pointed out he liked most of the red and blue variations and Eva liked all the dark purple and green colours. Don kept dismissing every single suggestion without compromise until there was only one colour range left.

"But then there's only white left..." Eva looked at the last few remaining swatches.

"Perfect."

Eva looked around the room. "Everything is already white! It's white, grey and black! Like a cartoon from the 30's!"

"The 2030's?" Rick was confused.

"No, the 1930's!"

"How do you know about something that old?" Don asked.

Eva stamped her foot. "I like cartoons, okay! And this house is as oppressive as the 30's!"

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Don said but since neither he nor Rick actually had any idea he couldn't say for certain.

"I think you just don't like intruders in your house."

"Come again?"

Rick observed the scene as it began to unfold. Eva was not good at expressing herself verbally and Don was dense at understanding people emotionally. It was a mix that led to disaster fairly frequently.

"I'm saying you think I'm a trespasser in your house!"

"Eva! That's not true!" Don indicated the upheaval around the house. "I wouldn't allow this disaster if that were true!"

Rick winced when Don didn't catch that verbal slip but Eva certainly did.

"And you hate every moment of it!" Eva shouted. "I'm not stupid, you know!"

"No one said anything like that!"

"I know what you've said and I know what you think too!"

"You're taking this too personally!"

"How could I not when my  _dad_  thinks I'm stupid!"

Don froze momentarily and Eva took that opportunity to threw the swatches to the floor and begin stomping out of the room.

"Eva!" Don shouted. "Get back here, young lady!"

"I'll be in my  _room!"_  Eva shouted back.

The girl stomped out of the room and ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door. Don was stuck on the spot watching her go, seething, then he growled and stormed into the kitchen. The dull thump of some bass-heavy music coming from Eva's room is all Rick could hear as he was left alone, standing in the sitting area.

He gave it a moment before going into the kitchen as well. Don was sat at the table with his head in his hands looking defeated, so he grabbed a glass of water and pulled up a seat to the table as well. They don't say anything for quite a while as Rick casually drank his drink.

"What do teenagers like?" Don eventually asked, cautiously. This was a particular moment of weakness he was allowing himself.

"Uh, I dunno, like videogames an' shit?" Rick replied.

Honestly, he didn't really know either. Eva wasn't quite the punk with a gang terrorising neighbourhoods like he was as a teen, and she certainly wasn't going to run-down bars and trying to get laid. He had absolutely no good experience to reference from.

"We were all kids at one point, yeah? What did you like?"

"So star-racers, then? Yes, I think I have that topic covered. Anything  _else_?" Don asked again, irritably.

He knows Don thinks that he has some connection with 'the youth', but it really wasn't like that. He never actually interacted with kids aside from Eva herself, and the primary reason they get along so well was because he respected her. But he didn't have responsibilities to anyone other than himself, he wasn't a parent and he would go home (mostly) every night, so their situations were starkly different. He just shrugged.

Don huffed and fidgeted, looking frustrated. "This was so much easier when she was a baby and we could just put her in a cute dress," he muttered to himself.

And Rick so badly wanted to say something snarky but he restrained himself.

Don ran his hands down his face and hit the table with a fist, then sighed in an attempt to calm down. Without saying anything he got up and went to Eva's room; Rick could hear him banging on her door and yelling over the music for her to let him in.

Now was probably a good time to leave and let them work it out between themselves. He really couldn't predict what kind of mood he'd walk into with his random visits, but the bad times did seem to be lessening of late.

When he returned the next evening things had changed again. In the end it seemed to have been agreed that the small room downstairs that led directly into the garage from the house (and the only other room aside from Don's office on the ground floor that had a door) was to be a sort of play/work room for Eva. When the teenager showed him around he noticed the purple beanbag that Don hated had migrated into here, but now it also had two companions in green and red.

The main sitting area was back to how it had always been; largely minimalistic. But now there was a games console hooked up to the TV, and a conspicuously empty picture frame above the fake fireplace. The rest of the house would probably go largely unchanged as well.

Eva handed him a spray can. "Are you here to help?"

He looked around at the in-progress decoration. The walls were all already dark purple and he noticed some spray cans of hot pink and green were waiting to be opened. Eva seemed to be planning out a design of stencils to spray paint on the walls.

"Where's Don?"

"Upstairs. He got a headache," Eva frowned and he noticed there was only a small window that opened into the garage as ventilation for the room. "Are you a good artist?"

He grinned and brandished the can. "Nope!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don Wei: Am I so out of touch? No, it's the children who are wrong.jpeg


	6. Career

It's early morning and they're all sat around the table in the kitchen. He couldn't sleep again so he was up first, and to feel like he's earning his keep when he stays over at the Wei household he makes breakfast. He had heard Don's annoying early morning persona wake Eva up and tell her to get ready for school. Eva was now sat slouched over the table looking like death warmed up.

At 6:30am he is quietly amused at the stark difference between them. He knows Don is a morning person who would, in the past, usually be at work two hours before anyone else even set foot on the premises, but now he's still at home waiting to drive Eva to school. Eva herself, however, though dressed for school, he was pretty sure her shirt was on backwards as she sat with her head resting on the table, bleary-eyed and attempting to scoop a fried egg sideways into her mouth.

Their general conversation drifted towards his joblessness as it was wont to do, and as ever, he'd not made any progress in finding a new career. He was honestly impressed that Eva was a bottomless fount of ideas.

"Maybe I'll go back to school too," he smirked.

"No! Don't!" Eva cried. "It's awful I promise!"

"Yeah, that's why I dropped out."

"You're a drop-out? That's so cool," the girl looked star-struck.

"That's not cool," Don interrupted.

"Dad... you don't know what cool is."

"Yes, I do! There's..." Don's eyes darted around the kitchen looking for ideas. "Dammit, there's nothing 'cool' in here."

"There's school drop-out Champion racer Rick Thunderbolt," Eva looked smug and finger-gunned at the man.

"Who now doesn't have a job," Don rebutted then choked on the comment a moment later. "Apologies."

Rick just rolled his eyes behind his shades.

"Stay in school, kids," he said sardonically. "Boy am I glad I never had to do any after-school specials."

"That wasn't brand appropriate," Don muttered as he raised a newspaper to read.

The conversation lulled but at least Eva looked more awake now as she started eating properly. He could sympathise with the girl; he wasn't a morning person either once upon a time. But now he had trouble sleeping altogether so early mornings weren't so rare anymore. Without his shades he's positive he looked quite terrible.

He's startled out of his thoughts when Eva slams her fork down on the table.

"I know!" she started with enthusiasm. "You could write a book about your life!"

And honestly, he had thought about that.

"But I would have to ask your dad for an interview for that," he grinned, looking over to the man hiding behind the paper.

"Absolutely not," Don replied quickly without looking at either of them.

At one point, not too long ago even, he thinks he would've written his memoirs with a brutal truth. But not now, not when he sees how hard Eva and Don are trying. He doesn't want to taint the girl's opinion of her father even more than what she already knows.

So he just sighed and says with a light-hearted tone, "writing really ain't my strong point." It's the truth anyway.

"Ugh, me neither," Eva groaned, referring to the essays she had to write for school.

"Don's overly verbose, I'm sure he could help, yeah?" he tilted his head in the direction of the man.

Don eyed him from over the top of the newspaper. "Is that an insult?"

Rick couldn't actually answer if it was or not.

"Nooooo," Eva groaned louder. "Dad uses too many big words, they'll know it's not me and make me write  _another_  as punishment."

"Clever girl," Rick chuckled.

He heard Don click his tongue and raise the newspaper again.

Eva fiddled with her breakfast, making it into an unappetising mess on the plate. She was pulling a face that implied she's brainstorming more ideas. She had a mouthful of egg when she spoke.

"I bet you'd make a great bodyguard!"

He definitely had the build and strength for it on a superficial level. But… "Wouldn't work with my disability," he pointed out.

"Oh, yeah… sorry." Eva looked down sadly, no doubt feeling guilty for accidentally bringing the subject up.

"And anyway," he continued in an effort to lighten her mood, "who wants to risk their life for some bozo? Way too regimented. I want to live for myself."

"Nothing to do with racing at all?" Eva asked carefully.

"I'm not ruling it out." There could be other careers in the industry but nothing he really wanted to expose himself to, not so soon anyway. "Maybe a change of scenery might be nice?"

Eva toyed with the fork in her mouth thoughtfully. "Change of scenery, huh… you could be a… model, maybe? You're attractive, right?" she suggested matter-of-factly.

Don slammed the paper down onto the table so hard that everything jumped and clattered and sent a death glare in Rick's direction, the strength of which would wither even the hardest of criminals. Rick instinctively scooted his chair back with his hands up innocently while Eva watched them, genuinely confused.

Rick was charming and loved attention so that would make him the perfect model, right? He could plainly understand the teenager's thought process. But he had come from nothing and if he were actually honest with himself, it wouldn't be at all terrible to go back to a quieter life. He didn't want to be ordered around anymore.

But first he had to diffuse Dad Mode (which was still so bizarre to see in person) and downplay Eva's suggestion. "To be honest with you, kid, I think I'd like a job where I have more control over my life. Being told how to dress and how to act ain't no fun, yanno?"

That spoke directly to the girl's rebellious streak. "Yeahhh, I get it… huhh, you're really difficult, Rick. Dad, c'mon, help us out here."

"Huh, what? Uh," Don snapped out of it and looked at his paper again. "A mailman?" he suggested flippantly.

"That's a terrible idea," Eva replied flatly.

"Well, excuse me." Don leaned back to drink his tea and remove himself from the conversation.

Eva continued to play with her well-beyond cold breakfast as she thought deeper. She snapped her fingers when another idea struck. "I know, an actor!"

Again, another occupation centred around attention and ego, he was beginning to see a pattern emerge. "I'm thinking you have a pretty shallow impression of me, Miss Eva," he half-jokingly said.

A look of shock touched with apology crossed her features. "W-what, no! Not really… I mean, no, of course not!" she flailed her hands in panic. "A-and don't patronise me!"

Rick laughed.

"I appreciate your help. I'm sure I'll think of something eventually."

'Eventually' being the key word. He didn't want to get too comfortable with life as it currently was, but the freedom to do what he liked and go where he wanted was certainly intoxicating. No schedules or responsibilities to worry about, no management or handlers to report to, and fewer and fewer paparazzi where harassing him lately. Life was becoming mundane...

A shudder ran through him and he snatched the abandoned newspaper, flipping to the job listings. Eva and Don glanced at eachother briefly then back to Rick.

"You understand none of this was a hint, of course?" Don said.

Rick nodded without looking up. "I'm not gonna live a boring life. I've achieved nothin' since the crash and it's been how long? A shitty hand from fate ain't gonna stop Rick Thunderbolt."

Even though Eva had explained the root cause of the ex-champ's crash (and her entire life also), Rick had refused to use it as an excuse. If nothing else he was a pro-active person and a dead demi-god had no more affect on his life. If he wanted to get out of the dumps he'd have to pull himself out!

"Well, it's time for school, Eva, go get ready," Don announced, possibly as a change of subject.

"But I haven't finished breakfast yet!" Eva cried. She looked down at the cold mush she had created. "Ugh, maybe I don't want to..."

"We'll pick something up along the way, come on."

"Ughhhh!" Eva groaned over-dramatically as she gathered her bag.

"It's not that bad," Don reasoned as they walked into the entrance way.

"It's pretty bad..." Eva admitted, "I didn't finish my essay either..."

" _What?"_  was the last thing Rick heard as the door shut behind them.

Leaving him alone in the house again. Although, to be honest, he wasn't likely to find anything that suited him in the paper unless he wanted to be a car mechanic, plumber or any number of other regular jobs. He brought out his phone and started calling contacts.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have absolutely no idea what kind of job Rick would get so I’m setting myself up for failure here. I have up to chapter 13 and he's still jobless OTL
> 
> This was the first chapter I wrote. You can probably tell?


	7. Sick

The sharp beeping of an alarm cut through the mist of sleep.

Eva groaned and reached out of the cocoon of blankets that was her bed to punch the alarm clock off the bedside table; it hit the floor and ceased its nagging. But she was unable to move without a splitting pain striking through her head and soon her eyes closed again.

"Eva! Get up, you have school today!"

Her dad's shouting through the door woke her for the second time. She groaned quietly and struggled to roll over but every movement sent her head spinning with the same stabbing pain. She tried to reply but everything went dark…

It couldn't have been much later, but she had no firm grasp on time, when her dad knocked on the door, coming to wake her up again. Probably with the intent to throw her blanket cocoon off as was one of few effective methods of waking her on school mornings when the alarm proved useless.

"Eva, we've been over this. You need to get up!" Don entered her room and she could feel his glare burning through the quilt.

It was probably the smarter thing to reveal her sorry state rather than have her blankets stolen, so she popped her head out of the cocoon. She didn't know what she looked like but it certainly wasn't great judging by how her father's expression changed.

"I feel bad," she moaned.

"You look bad," he agreed and put his hand on her forehead. "What's wrong?"

His hand felt cool on her clammy forehead. "My head hurts, and my stomach, ugh..."

"… maybe that Indian restaurant last night, or the..." Don began mumbling to himself, listing off all the recent places they had been that might have made her sick, clearly planning to rain down retribution on whoever he decided the culprit was. She kinda didn't need that right now though.

"Do I have to go to school?"

Obviously the answer would be 'no' but she felt like she still had to ask. Her dad was very adamant about her getting a good education and pressed it hard. And if she was forced to go to school she'd make use of this by puking all over that one particularly annoying classmate of hers. Heheh.

"Nevermind," Don shook himself out of his thoughts. "No, no, of course not. I don't think you're in any fit state. We'll stay home today."

Yesss, a free day! She tried to fist-bump herself in celebration but her stomach didn't appreciate the motion when it made an unpleasant sound. Ugh, what a waste of what could've been a perfectly good free day.

But, wait a second, did she just hear 'we'?

"Dad..." she started. "You don't have to stay, I know you have work..."

"Nonsense. I'm staying."

She didn't want to be a hassle, it was probably just a head-cold or a stomach bug and she could see her dad was already perfectly dressed for work. It's wasn't like this had ever been the first time she'd been ill and had to take care of herself. That had been the norm...

"But—"

"It's fine," Don reiterated. "I'm the boss, I can do what I want. Don't worry about it."

And she knew he didn't mean to sound like it, but it had come out sounding a little childish. She had to cover her lower face under the quilt to hide her amused smile.

"I'll call the school later," he sat in the chair near her bed. "How're you feeling?"

"I get sick a lot, it's not a big deal," she tried to brush it off.

But her dad seemed to think it was a big deal because he looked more worried now.

"How, why?" he asked.

"Well, uh..." She didn't  _want_  to keep bringing up Stern but it really was an unavoidable subject when she spoke about her life. "I… used to sneak out of my room at night and build my rocket seat in the shed. I mean… it was cold and wet and, yeah, so..."

Don looked at the floor. "That's… not good," he said carefully.

Though this didn't feel like the typical head-cold she'd get from working in a dimly lit, damp shed all night with very little sleep.  _That_  she had a lot of experience with, and usually cured it by sleeping in class. Whatever this was, it was much more potent.

"When you were little and were ill," Don started with a soft voice. "Your mother and I would read to you every night."

She looked over at her dad. He had a small smile on his face but was still looking at the floor. Gradually he'd been telling more stories about when she was very small, and most of them were pretty normal things a loving family did together. They might have seemed mundane to an observer but she treasured every single one.

"Did I get sick a lot?"

"No more than any other child your age would, but we still worried of course." He chuckled, a sound heavy with melancholy and continued. "One year it was the Championship season when you were ill… Maya was quite angry."

Her whole body suddenly flushed cold at the comment and she looked to her dad urgently. "At me?"

"No, no, definitely not at you!" Don answered quickly, realising his fumble and with a tinge of panic rising in his tone. "At herself, or the situation itself I suppose. Because she had to (how to put it…) 'quarantine' herself so she was unable to read to you at night."

Relief flooded her and she relaxed again. When her dad was certain she was okay he continued.

"You got rather upset when I would read to you instead. Maya did too, actually," he smiled at the memories.

She laughed lightly. "What sorta books did you read me?"

"Your favourite was," Don had to pause for a second, thinking. "A book about a young rabbit who would steal the farmer's carrots? We had to read you that  _every single night_ , over and over the same book. I can probably remember it in its entirety..."

Despite not remembering the title of it. She felt very close to asking for him to recite it but her head was feeling more cloudy and she could feel her eyelids drooping. It seemed her dad noticed too when he stood up.

"You should get some sleep. If you need me I'll be close by, just make some noise, okay?"

"Okay..." Eva muttered tiredly.

On the edge of sleep she felt an uncertain hand stroke her hair.

"I love you..." it was faint but she heard it.

She wakes up again, sometime later, feeling much better. Her head has cleared and her eyes don't feel quite so heavy either. She's alone in her room and ethereal sunlight is shining in through the window.

The door opens then, and someone walks in.

"Mom?" she whispers.

"Looks like you'll be missing school today," her mother comes over to sit on her bed. She's stunned when Maya pets her head softly and caresses her face. "You look dreadful, my poor baby. How do you feel?"

"Blehh," she sticks her tongue out and makes a childish noise. Maya laughs.

"I know what would make you feel better; mommy's cooking!"

Her mother produces a bowl of sweet-smelling soup. She accepts the bowl but somehow can't bring herself to taste it, not that she has the time when Maya abruptly embraces her.

"You are the brightest star in my universe," her mother says softly, gently, rocking them both back and forth. Eva had never felt so comfy and warm before as she hugs her mother tightly.

She's unsure how long they sit like this, on the bed, her nestled in her mother's embrace, and however long it was, it wasn't long enough when Maya then untangles their arms and smiles down at her.

"Mom?" she suddenly sounds so small and insecure.

"Don't forget, sweetie," Maya says with a voice full of joy, "that I am so incredibly proud of you. You'll grow up to be a beautiful and talented woman, I just know it."

"M-mom…?" she says with increasing worry.

Maya walks backwards,  _away_  from her, still smiling proudly.

"Mom..." there's desperation in her voice now.

"I have to go now, sweetie..." Maya says, moving further back, more distant, more blurry…

"Mom, no!" she says when her mother disappears before her very eyes. "Don't—don't leave me, mom! Please!"

She reaches out. She reaches far, out to her mother, her own hand coming into vision and it's so small. She gasps, looking down at herself; at her tiny, childish body and the tears suddenly come. And she screams for her mother.

"I love you, Eva..." the gentle voice says proudly before it fades away.

" _MOM!_ " She throws herself out of bed, out of the warmth and out of the safety, and everything suddenly hurts again.

Her head was spinning and thumping painfully, her throat was dry and painful to swallow as she tried to regain her breath. She'd collapsed on something hard but all she could see was darkness even when her eyes darted around in panic.

"Eva! … Eva, Eva…!"

Her ears were ringing but she could hear something. It took a moment longer for her to catch her breath and when she did she realised she was on the floor beside her bed. Her chest felt tight when she looked at her dad kneeling down beside her, holding her, with an expression of tremendous worry across his face.

"Are you okay?"

She chuckled with a broken voice. "I think I… fell out of bed..."

Don just nodded, didn't speak, but there was visible relief when his body relaxed. He helped her get back into bed again and passed her the glass of water from the bedside table.

It was like sweet nectar to her parched throat.

"Uughhh!" she let out a frustrated groan. "This sucks! I feel like crap."

"Maybe I should call the doctor..." Don mused to himself out loud as he folded his arms and sat in the chair by her bed again.

"Nope!" she changed her mind and clapped her hands for emphasis. "It's not that bad!"

Then she regretted the action when pain split her head in two and a small alien crawled out of her brain… okay, it might not have been that dramatic, but it sure felt like it. She laid back down carefully and glanced at her dad's unconvinced face. Really, she didn't want to be a burden and he  _did_  get a bit overprotective sometimes, like when he had wanted to murder the classmate who had pushed her down during a game of hockey at school. That hadn't happened, thankfully, but she was fairly certain his aggressive aura had killed the boy's soul if nothing else.

"I know you'll try to power through it, but you are allowed a moment of weakness," Don sighed. He'd got a pretty good handle on her fairly quickly, probably because they were so similar that she could preach this stuff right back at him. "Did you have a bad dream?"

The glass of water she was holding suddenly got a whole lot more interesting as she avoided his gaze. "I don't remember… did I say something?"

"No..." Don replied unconvincingly.

They were both a pair of liars.

But before it could get too awkward there was a strange hissing and spitting noise coming from downstairs.

"The stove!" Don rushed out of the room.

Her alarm clock had been put back where it belonged on the bedside table. Seemed like it was early afternoon so she had slept all morning, not that it felt like it had done any good. Her head was still thumping but she felt too uncomfortable to try and sleep more, so she felt around the bed searching for the TV remote.

If her crappy body was gonna treat her like this then she would punish it back by forcing it to watch trashy daytime TV.  _Revenge was sweet, baby_  as she surfed through a bunch of useless channels before settling on a particularly terrible one. Maybe it would be so bad she'd pass out from the boredom and wake up tomorrow, cured.

A savoury-sweet smell wafted into her room as her dad reappeared with two bowls of soup. She accepted the one he passed to her.

"This should help you feel better, I'm certain of it," he said

The soup was thick and creamy when she tried it. "It's good."

They had a fairly varied diet, whether they went out, stayed home or when Rick visited, her dad would cook whatever was suggested.

Which was fine by her. She hated cooking. At Stern it was the worst course she was forced to participate in, so back then she would sabotage her own cooking, not that she was ever good at it anyway. One too many suspicious spices into her scones later and the staff were no longer convinced it was an accident; she'd rather have the punishment they doled out than spend any more time in that class.

"It's your mother's personalised recipe," Don elaborated. "Only for us when we're sick."

She blushed, looking down at the broth. This soup warmed both her hands and her heart; her mother was such a beautiful person inside and out.

"Was mom a good cook?"

"God, no."

"Wha'?" gurgling in surprise, she struggled with a mouthful of the soup.

"Maya was good at cooking in theory, not so much in practicality. If you ate her meals you would have much bigger problems than a headache. Believe me..." his expression implied it was an experience he would not like to revisit.

She smiled. This was probably the first 'negative' thing he had said about her mother so far.

"And as people continuously tell me I have no imagination," Don went on with a dramatised sigh. "I've always leaned to the practical side of things. So: good teamwork!"

He looked so proud of himself and it still seemed so out-of-character.

"Thank you..." she whispered, unsure if it could be heard or not.

The TV programme that was playing drew their attention away as they ate. She could tell the soup was having a positive effect as her stomach stopped churning, her throat hurt less and she felt generally more relaxed and comfortable overall. To be cared for like this… it made her feel warm.

"Why would someone spend so much money buying a knife from a TV channel?" Don wondered aloud, not looking away from the TV.

"It's stainless steel with an engraved handle, it's a real bargain! Act now and we'll throw in four knives for the price of three, this is a once-in-a-lifetime offer!" She laughed when her dad turned to her like she'd lost her mind.

They spent the rest of the day watching trashy TV together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to imply that dream!Maya is Eva's idealised vision of her mother but I dunno if that came across well. There will be some actual Maya, like, way off in a future chapter.


	8. Management

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Eva bully chapter. Sorry in advance, Eva ; w;

Rick glanced at his watch; it was nearing 11:30pm. He had dropped in earlier with takeaway when Eva had texted him complaining about being hungry. Now it seemed to have turned into another of those nights he stayed over at the Wei residence as they where both occupied playing videogames.

"Uh, so where is Don?" he asked without taking attention away from the TV.

Eva was one of those people who moved around with the direction of the character they where controlling. "He's out people-hunting," she said with concentration.

"W-what…?" he looked at his companion equals parts confused and shocked. "Like dating?"

"Ew, gross! No!" Eva gagged but didn't elaborate.

So Rick went back to playing the game, still highly intrigued. It was another half an hour and multiple losses for him later when he heard the front door unlock.

"I'm sorry it's so late, things ran a little long! Is everything okay? I could see the light from the driveway!" a voice shouted upon entering.

"Fine! How was people-hunting?" Eva shouted, surprising Rick.

"You really don't have to phrase it like that," the voice replied with an exasperated tone. Don walked into the living room not even slightly surprised with the random appearances of Rick these days. "Good evening, Rick."

"Yeah, uh..." he paused to think.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, young lady?"

"Maybe. Do you wanna play Mario Kart?" Eva slyly asked her dad.

"I can feel my blood pressure rising already," Don replied through gritted teeth.

"You might win one this time," she helpfully put in.

"I think past experience has proven that to be very unlikely."

Rick snapped his fingers with sudden understanding. "Head hunting!" he said. Of course. It was that time of the season to be signing a new racer. Actually it was getting rather late into the season for that.

"Indeed," Don folded his arms, looking cross. "But I fear it's slim pickings."

"Maybe you should lower your standards," Rick joked, knowing that was a futile suggestion and with having personal experience regarding said standards.

"That sounds like loser talk."

"Maybe not if you're desperate?"

"I am  _not_  desperate! I would sooner sit this season out than sign any sub-par, wannabe-to-the-throne trash that would stain Wei Race's perfect record!"

"Sounds about right," Rick muttered.

"Wow, uh..." Eva had to gather her thoughts. "Pretty harsh out there, huh..."

"Lemme tell ya, Little Mouse, it's a shark pit out there," Rick grinned knowingly.

"A shark… pit," Eva repeated with befuddlement.

"Yeah, a pit. Full of sharks, duh," he said again. He was starting to worry that people didn't understand his metaphors. "And all the sharks have black and white hair—"

"That's enough out of you!" Don snapped, clearly in a bad mood. "An entire day wasted among a gaggle of drunken morons who couldn't identify their ass from their elbow. Why do I bother..."

"Did you get cornered by Louis?"

"Thankfully not, nor his screeching wife."

"I got trapped by them once," Rick had a traumatised expression when he spoke. "I think I fell asleep standing."

"If I never receive another begging letter disguised as a letter of introduction again it'll be too soon."

Rick chuckled. "Is that Charlie Howard guy still hassling you?"

"That nitwit is—" Don cut himself off with an aggravated sigh.

"This doesn't sound like star-racing," Eva puffed her cheeks out in protest. "Or fun."

"What is racing," Don mused in a vague metaphorical sense that Eva didn't pick up on before she answered.

"It's about the competition! Challenge and camaraderie between the competitors, and about testing your skill in a well-built star-racer and… uh..." she trailed off when she noticed both men staring at her.

"No, it's about winning," Don said bluntly. "I feel like you're making this more complex than it really is."

Rick cracked up laughing.

"Rick! Don't laugh!" Eva pouted, dropping the controller and folding her arms uncaring that her kart just rolled off the road into last place. "I can't believe you're ganging up on me."

Don collapsed into a chair with a tired sigh. "Though it shouldn't be surprising that you share your mother's philosophy on racing."

"Wha—really?" Eva looked up with rapt attention.

"Though she also had the skills to win, which," awkward pause, "was great."

Eva looked proudly ecstatic with the comparison.

"It's also about playing politics," Don sounded done for the night.

"Waaaay outta my wheelhouse," Rick added.

Although Earth competitions didn't involve artillery it was still a dangerous sport, they knew this, between Maya's death and Rick's nerve damage, it's affected them personality, but there were numerous other infamous injuries and deaths in the sport.

"Especially before the most recent regulations," Don commented.

When teams were much less scrupulous and lax regarding safety procedures. For a while the sport was mired in deep controversy with accusations of cheating, bribery and nepotism.

"Involving Arnaldo Sr.," Don continued and Rick made an unpleasant sound at the name.

"That's..." Eva had to think for a moment. "The five-time Grand Prix champion and the lap record holder around the Meiro track!"

"Correct."

Eva looked at the sour face Rick was making then back to her dad. "Is he… a bad person? No way! I've seen him on TV a bunch of times!"

Rick and Don look at eachother both seemingly less-than amused. Arnaldo Sr. was the President of the Race Association and figurehead of the entire industry, and a retired racer himself; the best there had ever been. No one had ever beaten his records, though back then it had seemed like Maya was a challenger to his throne before the incident that claimed her life.

"Let's just say," Don said carefully, "that karma caught up with him."

Eva sat back, thinking. Arnaldo Sr. had been forced to retire after being involved in a horrible accent that caused the loss of his limbs. His son, Arnaldo Jr., had replaced him but never quite lived up to his father's reputation (or expectations) despite suspicions that strings where being pulled behind the scenes.

"And I absolutely refuse to lose to Arnaldo Sr. and his worthless son!" Don added, bringing the conversation full circle.

The Arnaldos had never managed to win a championship since Wei Race had come onto the scene and Rick himself had personally deprived them of three wins in recent history.

Eva soaked up all the information. It wasn't that she knew exactly what to expect when entering the sport. She certainly didn't expect it to be like the desperate situation that had occurred back on Alwas and Oban, but she had done a certain amount of research and thought she had a pretty solid grasp of the procedures. The reality of it, however, was beginning to sound like things might be a little more complex then she had originally imagined.

"Bureaucracy," Rick chuckled with distaste. "Arnaldo Jr. ain't all bad."

"He's a muppet," Don put bluntly.

Eva looked between both men not knowing who to believe. "He's… okay?" she ventured.

On TV and in interviews Arnaldo Jr. seemed fine, just like his father also did, although maybe he did come across a bit too hard on the inflated ego front. But as she was learning; things were a lot different at ground zero among those in-the-know.

"Nah, i'm just yankin' yer chain, he's a real piece of work."

"Rick! You can't bully me like this!" she cried with annoyance and Rick laughed. "You should be banned from this house if you keep doing it..."

Rick just laughed even louder. "Sorry, kiddo, it's just so easy."

"Hhhhhgn!"

"Anyway," Don started a different conversation. "The Race Association will be holding a much more productive exhibition conference next week to show off the latest tech and talent, if you would like to be my plus one, Eva?"

"Seriously!?" Eva gasped.

When Don nodded she pounced on him with an unexpected hug, knocking the wind out of him and he tried to awkwardly reciprocate.

"If you can finish your outstanding school work in time," he mentioned, wheezing to regain his breath.

"Nooo," Eva fell to her knees in over-dramatic horror. "There's always a catch! That's a dirty tactic..." She pumped her fists in an attempt to psyche herself up. Bribery actually seemed to be a winning tactic. "Nnnn, I'll do it, I can do it!"

"Then you can witness this parade of new dinguses in person," Don grumbled.

"You just want a witness account of your opinion," Rick accused of him.

Eva watched the exchange with interest. It shouldn't have surprised her that he would want to defend new talent entering the sport, but he thought perhaps now wasn't the time to start an argument. He didn't want to rain on the girl's parade.

But Don spoke first. "I honestly think spending time with my daughter is enjoyable," he smiled at Eva who smiled brightly back.

He groaned. "Fine, I get it."

"The witness account of my correct observation is merely a bonus," Don then added.

" _I swear to god_..." Rick struggled not to say more.

"Don't worry, Rick," Eva gave a mock salute. "I'll provide a full report of my findings!"

"Thanks, kiddo," he sighed and Don just rolled his eyes.

Eva laughed quietly; a small, genuine sound. He knew their continued bickering was endless amusement to her.

"So what actually happens? When someone is signed?" She asked. Eva had told him that she still hadn't decided on if she wanted to become a mechanic or a pilot (when she was 18 and her dad couldn't stop her anymore), so understanding the procedure early would be useful.

Rick jumped in before Don could comment.

"First there is the agility test, then the intelligence test, then the obedience test, the pedigree test, the obstacle course, best in show and so forth."

"What…? That sounds like… a dog show—are you messing with me again!? Dad, seriously?"

"Well, there is a drug test."

"Dad, that doesn't help!"

"That Don has to personally administer," Rick said.

Eva gaped.

"I only need to know the results!" Don waved his hands dismissively, looking disgusted.

"You really are gullible, little mouse," Rick laughed strongly and messed up her hair.

"Uuuuuugh,  _no, I'm not!_ " Eva complained, swatting him away.

Rick just laughed again and picked up the controller and nudged her to finally begin playing again. She joined in and the race was now a competition for not-last place. But as she played with Rick, and while her father sat back looking like he'd fallen asleep, she couldn't clear her mind of that name. She knew Arnaldo Sr. was famous but it somehow felt much closer to home somehow… like a puzzle piece was about to fall into place.

She dropped the controller again and gasped. "I go to school with Arnaldo Jr. Jr.! He was the guy who called his nanny 'mom!'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2082, Mario Kart 32 just released for the Nintendo Holocube, Eva is ranked top 5 worldwide, she mains Daisy.


	9. Rick's Dog

"Guys! C'mere! I got something to show you!"

Rick's voice startled him as his pen slipped and he ruined what he was writing. The report was unusable now and would have to be rewritten, so with a sigh he balled up the paper and tossed it in the bin. Rick would not be baiting him out of his office today, he had too much work to do.

But he could hear Eva rush through the house to the front door. He got out another leaf of paper. No, not leaving to go deal with whatever nonsense Rick was selling.

Then Eva let out an excited shriek and Rick laughed. Not leaving, have to work...

_bark! bark!_

Damnit! He had to go check up. Rick had seriously better not have brought a dog over.

Unfortunately his fears were confirmed when he emerged in the entrance hall to find Rick holding a small breed of dog in his arms as Eva cooed and petted it. Rick was wearing his least-effort, most generic disguise today, so it stood to reason that he had been out of their housing area, but not too far out. He had simply changed his hair; tied-up into a bun and sticking out of the back of a baseball cap.

"What is that?" he tried to keep the disdain out of his tone but he wasn't sure if he'd succeeded or not.

"It's a dog," Rick annoyingly answered.

He rolled his eyes.

"She's called Clark!" Eva provided. "And I love her."

Already? Oh, no.

"She's a Bichon Friese," Rick elaborated, then smooched It on the head before putting it down.

It ran over to him and began jumping up, but thankfully since it was only a small dog it couldn't reach any higher that his knees, but it was already getting fur all over the place which was not appreciated.

"She likes you," Rick grinned.

"The feeling isn't mutual," he replied as Eva swooped down to cuddle the thing again.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come for a walk. I need to socialise her," finally Rick explained the reason for his visit as he watched Eva and Clark play.

"I have work to do today—" he tried to excuse himself from the activity but Eva spoke over him.

"I'll get our coats!" she said and rushed to grab them.

"Wait—" he tried again but Eva had already shut and locked the front door.

He could only sigh as she took the lead from Rick and chattered excitedly about the dog's adorable sweater as they all set off to wherever Rick had planned. He knew what was going to happen, he could see it coming a mile away.

Oh, no.

* * *

 

"Dogs are awesome," was the first thing Eva said when they arrived at the dog park and observed all the animals playing.

Oh, no.

"Can I let her off the lead?"

"Not yet, lil' mouse," Rick shook his head. "She's still a puppy. Let's go meet some other dogs, see how she does. You're a brave girl, aren'tcha, Clark?"

Clark yipped in response.

So they must have spent a good hour following Rick around as he introduced his dog to other owners and their dogs. An hour of being sniffed and jumped on and licked by all manner of dogs, large and small. It was horrendous! He'd thrown more balls in this past hour than he'd ever wanted to in his entire lifetime.

"I need a break," he eventually admitted.

"Your old man legs gonna give out?" Rick teased.

"I am  _not_  old!" he snapped back, drawing attention from onlookers.

"We'll remember that the next time you try the ol' 'I'm too old for this' routine," Rick yelled after him as he walked off and Eva giggled.

The nearest bench was good enough as Don dropped onto it, grumbling to himself and praying that no more dogs approached him. What did approach him was a ridiculous looking young man wearing a sandwich board handing out info flyers.

He couldn't even read the damn thing without his reading glasses, what an annoying afternoon, he sighed. At least the weather was pleasant as he occupied himself with squinting at the flyer—something about a city initiative to ??? waste recycling ???

"Rick's gonna get us ice cream!" Eva suddenly announced from next to him and he nearly jumped out of his skin, but managed to not embarrass himself.

"Eva, some warning next time..." he gasped.

Unaware how much her sudden appearance had startled him, Eva was sat with Clark on her lap, holding the dog's paws up and 'dancing' with it. It's adorable and he wants to take a photo but he can't do that discreetly enough when he's sat right next to her. He's told himself he has to be more outwardly affectionate and Eva still doesn't have those pictures she wants of them, and he  _wants_  to take a photo but it's been months and he still hasn't worked up the courage to just  _do it_.

It's pathetic that he can run the most successful star-racing team in the business and converse with some of the most important people around, but he can't work past his own insecurities to take a picture of his own child.

Well, that's wasn't entirely the truth. He did actually have quite a few photos of Eva now, just none that she actually knew about.

"Okay! First one to get brain-freeze wins!" Eva announced when Rick returned to them with ice-cream and immediately put it all in her mouth.

What kind of horrible competition was that? No one liked brain-freeze.

"Argh-gh..." he instantly got brain-freeze.

"Dad winfs! Guess I eaffs too mush I'm use to ih'" Eva said around a mouthful of ice-cream and his head hurt too much to tell her to eat with her mouth closed.

"I'm going to train Clark to be a support dog," Rick informed them as he devoured his own ice-cream. His tone was even but Don could detect the undercurrent of frustration with the situation, and even Eva understood as she nodded sombrely. "But she's still a puppy yet, so let's just have fun for now, huh, girl?"

Clark chomped on the bit of cone Rick fed her.

After a while Don realised that Rick's socialising was leading them back to his house. It wasn't even close to his and Eva's home, but Rick had been gradually moving them in that direction throughout the day between the various pit stop attractions.

"Damn, Rick, you have a pretty big house too."

Eva gazed up at the grandiose building when they arrived. Of course, this was the first time she had been to Rick's house and actually, he hadn't been in a long time either. They'd never really visited since Rick spent so much time at their place instead.

It's a big, flashy house; just what one would expect from someone with the charismatic ego of Rick Thunderbolt. Eva undersold the size of it as it was much larger than their house, and in the past he remembered it to be full of wait staff, but as Rick let them through the gates to the long driveway there was a suspicious lack of personnel around this time. He remembered how overbearing the staff were and it had only cemented his belief that he wouldn't want people like that in his own home.

And speaking of people he didn't want around; he just prayed that Rick's mother wasn't visiting. He didn't need that kind of abuse today…

"Whoa!" Eva gasped when they where led around to the back of the house were Rick's personal race track was revealed to her. It was only a small one used for fun, not practice, but it was an impressive feature to his already extravagant home.

"And over here..." Rick radiated a particular magnetic, prideful sort of aura when he could impress people as he showed an already stunned Eva over to a large garage.

Don already knew what was in it but it would certainly be a treat for his daughter. With much flair Rick lifted the first door which set off a chain reaction of all the other doors rising to reveal multiple cars.

"Rick… these cars!" Eva stuttered. "They're so… they have  _tyres_ , they're classics!"

"You got it." Rick finger-gunned and Don imagined he'd probably winked too but they'd never know.

Eva walked over to the cars in a daze holding her hands out but pausing before she touched one. She looked up for permission and Don had never seen his daughter so respectful before. Rick nodded his permission so Eva ran her hands along the rims of the windows down to the wheel arches.

"They're beautiful," she gasped.

The sun reflected off Rick's sunglasses. "You wanna ride?"

"Can I!?" Eva looked between him and Rick.

"Are you still allowed to drive?" he finally piped up.

"I don't see anyone stopping me here."

"Fine," he allowed it. He didn't know to what extent Rick's injury still affected him but he trusted his old Champion to know his limits when it came to driving.

"Thanks, dad!" Eva spun around on the spot, positively giddy then ran over to the cars to pick which one to ride.

"You riding too?" Rick asked hopefully.

"I'll pass," Don replied and sat down on a bench with finality.

"Whatever," Rick shrugged haplessly. "You can watch Clark then."

Rick dumped the dog on his lap but when he turned his back Don put Clark on the floor instead. Eva browsed for some time before choosing a car from the defunct Aston Martin company and got into the driver's side, looking ecstatic in the moment when pretending to drive it.

He looked around to check no one was watching—which no one would be considering no one else was actually with them, such was the height of his paranoia—and got his phone out to snap a quick picture.

Flipping through the camera roll he smiled when looking at it and other photos before he felt a gaze watching him intently. Lowering the phone, Clark's head came into view as the dog was staring at him.

"What? Don't give me that look!"

A dog was judging him.

"I don't have any treats for you," he tried to nudge it aside with his foot but it continued to stare. Trying to ignore it and watch Eva as Rick set off driving around the track didn't work as the sensation of a hole being burnt into his face only got more intense. "Fine, okay! I'm sorry I put you on the floor, is that better?"

He picked Clark back up and actually looked at it this time. Small with white, tightly curled fur and a slightly wall-eyed expression, it was wearing a sweater with a yeti (?) design on it, so he sighed with defeat and put it back on his lap again. It ceased staring then.

"So you're a new friend for Rick. That's good."

He knew Rick to have a lot of friends but there had been a suspicious lack of them around since his retirement. Then again it wasn't surprising that so many in the star-racing industry were superficial.

"I've seen the magazine clippings Eva has in her room."

Despite all attempts they had been unable to escape the paparazzi. Maybe that was fortunate so Eva could actually have some kind of picture of them together like it's so painfully obvious she wants. If only he were less of a coward...

"I don't think I can ever go back to the person I used to be. I have to do better."

He knows he's not the easiest person to live with, not anymore anyway. His various hang-ups prevented him from expressing himself as he'd like, taking today as the most recent example. Sometimes he'd think back to ten years ago, back when he didn't hate himself and before he'd committed the biggest mistake of his life, and he'd think of the plans he'd had, with Maya, for their family—watching Eva grow up and—

The dog whined painfully and he released his hand in shock. At some point he'd begun petting it and got so lost in his own head that he'd unintentionally hurt it—like most of the people in his life.

"I'm talking to a dog..." Unbelievable that he was poring his heart out to this thing as Eva and Rick completed another lap of the small track.

Clark looked up at him with big, doleful, black eyes.

"Ahh, what do you know, you're just a stupid mutt," he muttered and petted it behind the ears.

* * *

 

"Clark, sit."

Rick ordered the dog to sit by the door when they entered the house and it did seem to be obedient until Eva rewarded it with a treat, then it went crazy again.

"Eva, don't let it," he frowned when it started licking her face. It was disgusting and he had seen it eat some questionable things at the park.

"S-she's okay," Eva giggled affectionately, struggling with Clark jumping and slobbering all over her.

The inside of the house had changed a lot more than the outside. Rick took them to what he called his 'cozy room' which was the usual room he used to entertain guests. It was a smaller room with a snooker table, a mini bar and a couple of arcade cabinets. Things might have changed a lot in the house since his last visit, but Rick had apparently kept the one particular chair Don had always sat in when he had visited in the past.

It was a reliable comfort and he made a beeline for it.

Eva and Rick sat on the floor playing with Clark. The dog already had a large assortment of toys as Eva played tug-of-war with it.

"Where's your staff?" he asked the question that had been eating away at him since they'd arrived.

Rick rolled over to look at him casually. "Don't need 'em anymore."

"You had staff?  _Ooo, fancy_ ," Eva teased.

"Cheeky," Rick chuckled. He play-growled at Clark who started yapping in response. "I'm not living that kinda life anymore, yanno? Seems a bit wasteful, yeah?"

"Ha! Imagine that. Never thought I'd hear it. Good to see you've finally come to your senses about that malarkey."

"Yeah, yeah," Rick huffed good-naturedly.

"What kinda staff?" Eva put in. "Someone to wake you up in a morning? I have an alarm for that."

"Someone to put toothpaste on your brush."

"Someone to turn the page of the book you're reading."

"Someone to eat for you."

"Someone to blink your eyes for you."

"Yeah, okay, guys! Thanks! I didn't sign up for this abuse!" Rick pouted and cuddled with Clark. "You'll be nice to me won't you, girl? We don't need any nasty Weis."

"Nooo, you love me don'tcha, girl?" Eva countered and enticed Clark out from Rick's embrace.

"Disowned in my own house!" Rick dramatised a faint and relaxed on the floor.

Don knew it was coming, he was waiting for it. Eva turned around to him, hugging the small bundle of white fur with enchantment reflected in her eyes. Oh, no…

"Daaad, can we get a dog too?"

" _O_ _h, no_ _,_ " he finally verbalised it.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jim Clark was a famous F1 driver.
> 
> Still can't write Don's POV, whoop!


	10. ES-REC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have written ALL of my buffer chapters now and I feel very accomplished! So unless I get some Eva-Rick-Don family fluff from SOMEONE ELSE to get my creative juices flowing again I think i'm done writing for now! Damn this deadass fandom and my love of less popular characters in general OTL But don't worry, there's still a BUNCH of chapters left to be posted.

She'd never willingly got up so early before in her entire life, and she'd never had as much energy at such a crazy early hour either. Eva's non-zombie-like state surprised her dad enough for him to comment on it. Nothing could curb her enthusiasm today, not even being awake before the sun had risen! She was going to the Earth Star-Racing Exhibition Conference!

When they arrived at the track, even though it was still very early in the morning, she found that 'Team Dad' were already well set-up with their own star-racer, the  _Shrike_. It made sense that all the racing companies had, had time the previous few days to get ready early. She was beyond excited to visit and examine all the other star-racers at the conference.

"Eva! Come check this out!"

One of the Wei Race mechanics called her over.

"Is this the new engine from Germany?" she awed at the beautiful machine she was directed to.

"Jup!" Xander looked proud. "It's the new six valve-cylinder Mercedes chromatic so I hope you enjoy having all your organs compacted into your spine when you fly. It's barely in production yet, but you know us; always have some strings to pull," he winked.

"It's amazing..." Eva whispered.

She was so lost in admiring the engine she didn't notice the other mechanic, Dee, elbow her partner with amusement as they watched her.

"You know what they say about German engineering," the woman commented.

"If you want an engine that works, get German. If you want an engine that works but don't understand how, get Italian," Eva recited an old saying and they all laughed. "I've never seen one in person before. Don't most star-racers still use turbo engines?"

"Yeah, so I guess we'll be guinea pigs this time? I'm sure boss and Gabin know what they're doing," Dee helplessly shrugged.

"Gabin?" There were so many people at Wei Race that Eva still didn't know.

"He's the guy who designed the Shrike. We've rotated the engine by 15 degrees so we can lower the pilot bay to create a more streamlined profile and increase airflow."

Eva started at Dee.

"Or something! I dunno, I just fix things! Gabin's the nerd, go ask him the next time he ventures out of his office!" Dee flailed self-consciously causing Eva to giggle.

"An American company, a German engine, a British design, and the Grand Prix will be held in either Japan or Dubai," Xander mused. It was certainly a multinational team. "I wonder where our new pilot will come from?"

"Lotta new talent coming out of Brazil and Taiwan," Dee pointed out.

Ah, that 'parade of dinguses' her dad had mentioned. Rick had asked her to lend a less-jaded eye to the proceedings. Her dad had absurdly high standards and he'd discard anyone who didn't meet them, so Eva would be the one to scope out the junior ranks for Rick's interest.

"Could it be an alien?" she asked with interest. There were so many planets out there with racing leagues of their own and Earth had competitions with some of it's nearest neighbours of course…

"Good question," Dee scratched her chin with the pair of bolt cutters she was holding. "I dunno. You gotta be an Earth citizen to compete. I guess there are aliens with Earth citizenship… but then they wouldn't be alien anymore, huh? Xander, help me out here?"

"Iunno," the man shrugged. Dee sighed.

"Any reason why you wanna know?" she looked to Eva.

"Just thought it might be cool," Eva brushed it off which was enough to satisfy the pair of mechanics.

She wondered if, after the Great Race experience, the racing leagues on other planets were as regimented as Earth's or if they were as wild and unpredictable as the Alwas and Oban cycles had been. She couldn't imagine a Nourasian league built up around 'star-racers' like G'dar. That would be more similar to something like horse racing. Oh, shit, Prince Aikka was a  _jockey_ , she giggled.

Xander and Dee were looking at her peculiarly.

"Just thinking of something funny dad said," she lied to explain her spontaneous giggling fit.

That just made them look  _more_  worried.

The ground manager came around to them all at that moment telling them to be on their best behaviour. Eva asked why everyone was so worried.

"Boss is talking with sponsors," Dee pointed to the small office across the pit. The blinds were down so nobody could see inside.

Ah, yeah, that made sense. Her dad would definitely be in a bad mood after that. It was known that Don liked to give the orders not receive them. So anyone that ran afoul of him after such meetings ran the very real risk of being fired. Less so these days, admittedly, but it was still a genuine threat.

"I just wanna get inside this beauty," Xander murmured lovingly, caressing the engine.

"That's disgusting, Xander," Dee tried to put up a show of responsibility for Eva's sake. "But also, same."

Just then the office door opened and everyone on the team put their heads down to look busy. Two smartly dressed office-types came out with her father and they all spoke again, then Don nodded tersely to which the two people then took their leave.

"Wow, dad looks real annoyed," Eva pointed out.

"We gotta find a pilot by the time Japan and Dubai finish bidding for the Grand Prix," Dee explained with her hand hiding her mouth. "So the sponsors can start marketing and all that crap, but boss is cutting it real close this time."

The sponsors had hardly left the pit when another pair of visitors appeared—a most unwelcome pair.

"Ho-ho, bad timing for these assholes to visit," Dee grinned as Don stormed up to the pair.

It was Arnaldo Jr. and Arnaldo Jr. Jr..

"You know we can't do anything, the Arnaldos own this sport," Xander replied irritably.

Dee grunted. "Maybe. But I wanna see the boss throw them out on their lousy behinds. First the sponsors and now these idiots, he's not happy."

"Fireworks!" Xander made flashing motions with his hands.

Not that Eva was happy to see these people either. Arnaldo Jr. Jr. was her obnoxious classmate who had been bothering her from the day she had transferred into her class. She understood why now.

The Arnaldos had a rivalry with her dad. Despite being the very face of the sport itself their family-slash-team had never once managed to beat Wei Race and some strong resentment had blossomed. When she had transferred into her class Arnaldo Jr. Jr. had recognised her surname and immediately begun bullying her. She had initially thought he was just the generic jerk that all schools had, and despite Don trying to keep her out of it, she had become involved.

Now she also wanted to rub their noses in her successes.

"Eva, hey..." Xander tried to stop her as she went over to stand near her dad.

Arnaldo Jr. was a blonde man in his late thirties and about the same height as Don. He was wearing a casual outfit; a lavender shirt with beige khakis like he was on his yacht rather than at a professional star-racing conference. He certainly didn't dress like one of the best pilots in the sport and she could almost feel the ego radiating from him—it certainly wasn't the same sort of impression he had when on TV.

And it was the first time Eva had seen her nemesis outside of school. Arnaldo Jr. Jr. was practically just a smaller version of his father right down to the pretentious outfit. They even had very similar haircuts. It was  _really_  weird and she wondered if they weren't legitimately clones.

Arnaldo Jr. had his hand out leaning against the Shrike in a casually-aggressive manner, observing all the action going on in their pit. When Don physically removed the man's hand from their star-racer Arnaldo Jr. stumbled to keep his balance.

"And what do you want?" Don asked, not even bothering with the usual fake pleasantries.

"Just making the rounds checking out the competition, such as it were," the man chuckled. "How are preparations going?"

"I know you can see that everything is going swimmingly."

"Except for a pilot," Arnaldo Jr. snorted. "Kinda difficult to compete without a pilot. Better pick a winner today."

"Yes, you wouldn't know anything about that."

Eva could hear the team gossiping and tried to tune it out and concentrate on Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s smug face.

" _At least Asshole Sr. ain't here."_

" _3vs2 would hardly be fair."_

" _It used to be 3vs1 before Eva appeared."_

" _Maybe if boss got married it'd be a fair fight."_

" _That wouldn't be fair either, the Arnaldos own this sport."_

" _It's more like Everyone vs The Arnaldos. Everyone hates them."_

" _Everyone hates us too, to be fair."_

" _Oh, yeah..."_

"Ready to snort our exhaust fumes?" the boy smirked as their parents began their own confrontation.

Eva rolled her eyes at his attempt at smack-talk. "That's just sad, my guy. Don't do this to yourself, I can't handle the second-hand embarrassment."

"The only one who'll be humiliated is you when we win the championship again!"

"The only championship you won was last year when we sat it out." After Rick's firing. Heh, Eva listened to herself talk about Wei Race as if she had been a part of the team the whole time. She was absolutely invested now. "How do you think you're gonna beat us?"

"You don't have a pilot so we'll win automatically," Arnaldo Jr. Jr. replied smugly.

"That's pathetic! Can't beat us on skill so you'll rely on technicalities? You're an even bigger loser than I thought! We'll have a pilot by the end of the conference anyway," she said confidently.

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. scoffed dismissively. "See if you can keep them around for a little while longer this time."

"What?"

"Your dad ran Thunderbolt out of the major leagues and killed your first pilot—"

Eva's nails dug into her palm as she clenched her fists. " _What?_ " she murmured dangerously to the obliviousness of the boy.

"—who was that?" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. leered. "Oh, yeah..."

She growled, low, and her arms began shaking as the boy continued.

"Where'd you even come from anyway? My family has been in the business for three generations now and you just come in off the streets and act like you've always been here? Lowers the class of the whole thing."

The comment stung and she could feel the last strand of her patience snap.

"You're such a pompous ass!" Eva exploded. "You've been on my ass since day one and I'm sick of it! You can't beat me at school so you'll try to beat me in star-racing instead? More like your family's been cheating for three generations! You couldn't beat my mom, you couldn't beat Rick and you'll never beat my dad! Even with your grandpa rigging things for you,  _you still can't win!"_

"W-we—" the boy stuttered. "We do not cheat!"

Eva laughed bitterly. "You poor idiot."

With her independent nature she really couldn't relate to this spoilt brat who'd had every luxury in his life spoon-fed to him by his nanny. He was so out of touch he wasn't even aware at the things his own family was doing behind the scenes.

The youngest Arnaldo was beginning to look somewhat rattled. "You're ridiculous!"

"I know you've never even piloted before," Eva continued, "and I've raced in the memory of my mother! You need your dad to race for you and you need your grandpa to cheat for you! You're too much of a spineless loser to do anything for yourself! Does your mom still dress you every morning? Or maybe your nanny does."

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. snarled. "At least I still have a mother."

Eva broke his nose.

The boy screeched like a slaughtered pig and fell to the ground, clutching his face as blood seeped between his fingers.

"Eva!" Don shouted in shock.

Arnaldo Jr. and Don broke off their passive-aggressive background argument then. Eva froze, the sudden rush of adrenaline passed which left her feeling cold as she stared down at the boy who had been nothing but horrible to her since the day they'd met. The whole pit was suddenly dead silent.

The boy mewled as Arnaldo Jr. reacted first. Rather than check on his son the man's first action was a threatening motion towards Eva which caused Don to pull her to him protectively, then Arnaldo Jr. shook himself out of it and checked on the boy.

"Junior, stand up!" the man pulled on Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s free arm to lift him up forcibly. "This is assault! I'll have you disqualified for this! And your brat thrown in juvenile detention!"

Eva felt her dad's grip on her tighten.

"That girl is a savage! Feral child, was she raised by wolves!?"

Shock had hit her too hard for the man's hurtful comment to truly sink in but it certainly sparked a reaction from Don.

"H-how dare you," Don growled lowly, probably too low for the other man to hear as Arnaldo Jr. went on.

"Look at the state of this girl! It's unsightly, no wonder her first thought is violence—"

" _THAT'S ENOUGH!_ " Don shouted so forcefully that Eva was pretty sure she heard the rafters rattle. "You have no right to come into my pit and insult my daughter! Get the hell out!"

Arnaldo Jr. was infuriated. "Your daughter assaulted my son!"

"Father, my nose," Arnaldo Jr. Jr. whined, his voice muffled as he pulled on his dad's shirt for some help.

" _I know_ ," the man said.

"Maybe you should get the boy some medical attention," Don suggested in a darkly humorous way.

Arnaldo Jr. growled. "I'll call security is what I'll do! Got a nice cell waiting for that little barbarian!"

"Father! Don't tell everyone I got beat up by a girl!" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. snivelled which seemed to give his dad pause.

Eva had to stop herself from punching the boy again just for that comment, but they were already in enough trouble. The comments set her dad off again though.

"Get your worthless asses out of my pit immediately!"

"I'm not leaving without an apology from the girl!" Arnaldo Jr. seemed more concerned with his pride than his son. He handled the phone in a threatening manner.

Don took hold of Eva's arms. His movements were a bit too rough for her comfort, but emotions were running high.

"You must apologise," Don said sternly. He looked very angry, whether it was at her, this situation or the Arnaldos she wasn't sure. "If you don't you could be in deep trouble—they'll let it slide if this isn't perceived as a slight to them. Please."

The worry for her well-being was not disguised in his tone. It was sort of pathetic that Arnaldo Jr. would let her off lightly for punching his son just because it could be perceived as saving face, pun not intended. But what did she know about how the ultra rich lived?

"I'm sorry..." Eva mumbled.

Arnaldo Jr. cupped his hand to his ear in a sarcastic manner. "What was that? Speak up."

She ground her teeth together and Don squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry!"

Before either Arnaldo could react Don forced them out of the pit as if the matter was now resolved. "Peace has been restored. Now,  _leave,_ " he ordered whilst blood was still seeping from the boy's nose. The pair left with as much dignity as they could muster.

"This isn't over!" Arnaldo Jr. shouted back, drawing some attention from onlookers. "My father will hear about this!"

"Goodbye!" Don responded.

When he turned back, Don dragged Eva over to the office and sat her in the chair by his desk, standing over her. It brought back memories of the various reprimands she'd received from the teachers at Stern.

"What did the boy say?"

"Nothing important," she growled, trying to calm down. She knew that wasn't fooling anyone; there was only one specific subject that got her this angry.

Her hand hurt a little, but the silence from her father was much more painful. She knew she had disappointed him, and maybe it was unhealthy but she still wanted Don to see only the best in her and to impress him. Lashing out at petty words wasn't an action from the kind of person she wanted to be. Tears, barely held back, stung her eyes as she cupped her hand.

"You know if you twist your body when you throw a punch you'll hit harder," Don mentioned offhandedly.

"Huh?" she looked up.

"Just for future reference," he smiled down at her.

He dropped down to her height and hugged her; she gripped him tightly, making fists in his jacket and sobbing. He stroked her hair until she cried herself out.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, wiping her eyes. "I've made trouble for you."

"Don't worry, it's nothing I can't smooth over. Are you feeling better?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Mn!"

Don took her hand and inspected it. She'd cut her knuckles against Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s useless face and it was bleeding a bit, so he took the handkerchief from his pocket and tied it around her hand. Eva flexed her fingers around the bandage. They probably had a proper first aid kit somewhere but she did not want to leave the office yet and didn't want her dad to go find it and make a scene.

"Thanks."

Don nodded. He seemed to have picked up on her thoughts. "Give me a moment to get some things sorted and then we'll go for that tour, okay?"

Obvious excuse but she appreciated it. Eva nodded and got her phone out to take a picture of her hand as a visual for her diary. She might have been a casualty to the cause but Arnaldo Jr. Jr. would probably have to go to hospital and miss the rest of the conference. An evil smile spread across her face that she was unable to hide when Don eyed her.

But when they did emerge from the office the team was still gossiping and she could feel her face heat up with humiliation.

" _I wasn't expecting Eva to be the one to get physical first."_

" _Well you know what they say about apples and trees."_

"…  _what?"_

" _Shh! Shhhh!"_

"EVERYONE GET BACK TO WORK!" Don barked and they all scrambled to look busy.

As Don spoke to the appropriate people Eva noticed the blood on the pit floor had been cleaned up. Xander and Dee sent a discreet thumbs-up in her direction but she hid her face from them. She pulled on her dad's sleeve to drag him outside; the fresh air (actually heavy with an ozone and polish scent) would help her feel better.

Her spirits were lifted quickly as they toured the pits; there was no way being among so many star-racers wouldn't cheer her up. She had to be stopped multiple times from running up to random hangers and gushing about their vehicles before they soon came across a familiar competitor.

"Molly!" Stan and Koji greeted her.

Eva ran over and hugged them both not caring about the grime on their overalls.

"Good morning, sir," Koji added for Don who nodded.

Mindful of not getting in the way of the disorganised pit they had a brief exchange before Don's phone began ringing and he excused himself.

"Rick, what?" was how Don chose to irritably answer the phone. He moved away to speak and judging by his hand gestures it was probably not a cordial call.

"They argue like an old married couple," Stan observed with humour.

"You don't have to live with it," Eva rolled her eyes.

Koji chose to hold his tongue on the subject so instead he opted to say; "some things never change, huh?"

"Are you busy?" Dumb question—they where clearly busy. She could hear Miguel cackling in the background.

"Mad busy! So, you wanna lend a hand?" Stan rubbed his gloved hands together and offered her a random spanner.

"Would Miguel mind?"

Koji upturned his hands in an exasperated manner. "I don't think boss minds anything."

"But are you supposed to be helping the competition?" Stan then asked slyly, withholding the spanner.

"I'm a neutral party!" Eva saluted. "On an assignment from Rick to scope out new talent."

Stan and Koji laughed at her declaration and Stan gave her the tool.

"I don't think you'll find anything new in here, not anymore," Koji looked around at the disorder that was their pit. "It's a bit of a mess."

"It's an organised mess, I know where everything is!" Stan protested.

"Where are those spark plugs I asked for twenty minutes ago?"

"Over there!" Stan indicated a stack of nondescript crates.

"And the spare carburettor?"

Stan lifted a bench with lots of greasy cans and magazines on it. "Under here!"

"On the floor!?" Koji panicked.

Eva giggled at the pairs' antics. Their hanger had a much more laidback atmosphere given it was a legitimate dump and she was honestly surprised Stan could find anything in it. She sympathised with Koji, but what they had seemed to work for them. Well, it didn't help them ever win (or get close to winning), but it funded Miguel's weird, creative side projects and without that they'd have never have had the  _Whizzing Arrow_  for the Great Race. Built-in artillery wasn't exactly allowed in the Earth star-racing circuit.

Stan and Koji exchanged places as the taller mechanic strolled back over to Eva. He chuckled as Koji worriedly ordered some of their co-workers to put the sensitive piece of equipment back on the stand it belonged on.

"Seen anything cool at the conference?" he asked as he directed her to their star-racer.

Despite being a 'neutral party' she wasn't sure if she should reveal any details from Wei Race, so she decided to talk about all the other competitors she had observed as they'd toured the pits. They had a pleasant conversation about the industry as she fiddled with her assigned job.

"Have you decided between being a pilot or mechanic yet?" Koji asked curiously when he'd rejoined them.

She sighed.

"Guess that answers that," Stan and Koji shared an amused look.

Eva shook her head. "I've always wanted to go into mechanics, and dad is obviously pushing for it, and I enjoy doing this..." she rapped the hull of the star-racer for emphasis.

"But?" Stan prompted.

"But well you know..." she shrugged helplessly. Yeah, they knew all too well.

"You've got time to decide yet," Koji told her. She had two more years of regular school before she had to choose her path. "Who knows what'll happen in that time?"

"I guess," Eva huffed.

"You should concentrate on being a kid first," Stan said, strangely seriously.

"Ugh! Don't talk like dad," Eva moaned.

The pair laughed.

"Told you, you'd be a great dad with lines like that," Koji grinned.

Stan spat the pick out of his mouth irritably. "Shut, up, man! Now  _you_  sound like my mother!"

"Don't say it, please!" Koji cut Eva off before she could add further comment and they all laughed again.

They spent some time talking about the conference and the upcoming Grand Prix as they worked on the star-racer. It was familiar and comfortable and she really did enjoy getting deep into a machine and poking about, puzzling out problems or thinking of alterations that could be made.

But piloting was too alluring. She thought about her mother—her famously talented mother—and how it must have felt to be on the top of the world like that. Doing what you loved. But she loved mechanics  _and_  the thrill of racing. Maybe Stan and Koji where correct and her path would become clear with time...

"Oh, no! I got my bandage dirty," she looked at her hands covered in grease. It was a weird thing to worry about considering it already had blood on it but her dad had given her it, so...

"Is that blood?" Koji asked with his familiar worried tone.

"You didn't get hurt in here did you?" Stan looked around the pit for anything that could've caused injury.

Eva shook her head. "Nooo, I uh. I got in a fight."

"You win?" Stan looked over the top of his goggles.

"It was a decisive me victory!" she crowed proudly and Stan cackled.

"Who did you fight? Around here?" Koji's confusion made sense. There weren't many kids at the conference—not around the professional area at least. He hoped she hadn't fought with an adult?

"Arnaldo Jr. Jr.," Eva provided with some disdain.

"Oh, those guys," neither Stan nor Koji looked impressed when the name was brought up.

"Glad you put the little shit in his place," Stan said causing Koji to flail at the swear. "It's fine! Molly's not a sheltered princess, are ya, champ?"

Eva grinned and gave a thumbs down.

Stan grabbed his friend and crushed him by the shoulders in a friendly hug. "Koji is a delicate flower. No swearing in the pit!"

"You two are terrible," Koji sighed but made little attempt to escape the hug.

They worked on the star-racer for a little while longer then Eva looked around. "Not that I'm bored or anything but geeze, how long is dad gonna be on the phone..." she muttered.

Stan and Koji shared a glance.

"He finished ages ago," Stan told her.

"Yeah, he left already," Koji added.

Eva froze. "What?"

Sure enough as she scooted out from under the star-racer and looked around the pit her dad had gone. A familiar and heavy, unwelcome feeling turned over her stomach and it must have shown on her face when Stan and Koji approached her worriedly.

She beat them to speaking first. "I have to go—uh, thanks for letting me help—I have to, uh, okay, bye!"

Without waiting for a response she dodged around other mechanics and dashed out of the pit to find her father who had abandoned her again in an unfamiliar and crowded environment. But as soon as she stepped over the line of Miguel's pit she spotted Don waiting directly opposite the bay near the track guardrail—he was pretty easy to identify.

She stomped over to him, her demeanour causing those around to move out of her way. As she neared he turned to her, oblivious to her attitude and before he could speak she shoved him.

"Eva!" he stumbled a bit and scolded her.

"You left me!"

"What?"

"You left me," she reiterated.

"I thought you might like some time with Stan and Koji without me around," he explained himself.

But when Eva didn't reply to that he took a short breath and put his hand on her head.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

Eva picked at the bandage on her hand, fighting with herself internally. Maybe she had overreacted but given their situation she thought it wasn't an unreasonable thing. But she had also complained that Don was too overprotective and needed to step back a bit, and he had done that this time and yet it had still scared her. What a mess her emotions where!

"It's okay," she eventually settled on, lifting her head as he removed his hand. "But tell me next time you leave, okay!"

"Okay," he smiled apologetically. "Are you ready to meet some pilots? I think you have a report to make to Rick. He already gave me an earful."

She laughed softly at his unamused tone and nodded. Turning back to the pit she waved goodbye to Stan and Koji who were watching, then stuck close to her dad as he led them off.

"I hope there's lots of female pilots," she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hermione-punches-draco-except-it's-eva-and-arnaldo-jr-jr.gif
> 
> This is a long chapter! I'm sorry. It got away from me. The next few are shorter, don't worry.


	11. Sports Day

They got out of the car and began walking to the school. Eva had joined the field hockey team some time back and today was their first seasonal match against another school. Eva had left the invitation to the match on the kitchen table without mentioning it and when Don also hadn't mentioned it she had begun moving the ticket around to places he would always find it until he'd brought it up. Eva was a mixture of proud and embarrassed about it because she had been made the team captain.

"Are you feeling okay?" he looked down at her.

Eva had a sense of confidence in her step as they walked towards the school. She had her head high and her mouth was a determined line causing any casual observer to think this was a girl with no worries. But her anxiety was clear to him. Eva subconsciously clutched at her hockey stick tighter.

"Okay… yeah. Uh, a bit nervous actually," she admitted, frowning momentarily. "I'm so hungry."

"After that breakfast?" he asked, a little surprised. He was still amazed Eva could put away so much food and it had been less than an hour ago too!

"I'm a nervous eater!" she defended herself with a pout.

Her nervousness was understandable. Not only would she be playing in front of a crowd of parents for the first time (he assumed this particular point was the source of her anxiety), but she was also the team Captain now, so extra pressure had been placed on her shoulders. He knew his own personal method of dealing with stress (not sleeping and shouting extra loud) wouldn't work the same way for a fifteen-year-old girl, and Eva had her own method anyway. And it involved eating. A _lot_. Which was probably sensible; at least she would have plenty of energy.

As they walked towards the school he could tell fer façade of confidence was slipping—it was obvious from the way she was wringing her hands into the bag holding her equipment.

"Check your coat pocket," he smiled down at her.

"Huh?" Distracted, Eva looked confused but did as he said. "Oh! A breakfast bar! Thanks, Dad!"

"Don't forget to chew!" he said when Eva shoved the entire bar into her mouth and tried to swallow it whole like a duck. They had to stop a moment with him patting her back as she choked on it.

They were drawing attention for other families as Eva coughed around a mouthful of nut mix and honey in bar form when Eva noticed someone walking over to them. "R-Rick—omph, woh're oo doinf 'ere?"

"Wouldn't miss little mouse's important day," Rick said with amusement. He gave her one big thump on the back, almost knocked her over, but cleared the blockage.

Eva coughed and struck a confident pose to hide her nervousness from the retired pilot. "It's not that important, I got this!" she licked her sticky fingers.

Rick leant down to Don. "Is she nervous-eating again?"

Don nodded.

"What did'ja just say?" Eva looked at them suspiciously. "If it was something bad I have a big stick and I'm not afraid to use it!"

She threatened Rick with the hockey stick, giving it a couple swipes through the air for emphasis and Rick play-acted worried. "Whoa there, when would I ever say anything bad about my favourite mouse?"

"Rick!" Eva protested. "Can you not call me that a school!?"

"But it's your official title."

Eva made more threatening motions with the stick.

"Alright, alright!" Rick laughed, raising his hands in surrender. "Eva it is for today then."

They entered the school grounds and a small group of teens approached them; some of Eva's teammates and friends. Excitedly (and with some visible nerves) they all greeted eachother happily. Eva hugged him quickly, petted Clark and gave Rick a salute before she dashed off with them to prepare for the match.

Rather than do any of his own socialising with any other parents Don headed straight for the stands to pick the best seats and Rick followed him, no doubt relieved he wouldn't have to speak to any of these people either. For a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve dealing with these stuck-up fancy types was not Rick's strong suit.

Few people had arrived yet so they had plenty of space to choose from and Rick spread out comfortably. This was the first match of the season, not counting the friendlies, that family was invited to, and Don could already notice some head-hunters. He recognised the predatory aura.

"There's one," Rick pointed out a middle-aged, professional-looking woman in the stands and Don nodded.

If Eva got head-hunted after the match it would put his mind at ease to have her choose a safe career path to move into and forget about piloting. Although he understood she wasn't really passionate about sports so it seemed unlikely. She had mostly joined the team to make up for some of her lacking grades, but she had made friends in doing so which eased his heart.

"You think Eva'll go into sports?" Rick asked.

"No, I think she's just doing this for fun. She's still focused on being a mechanic," or a pilot but he wasn't going to say that out loud, though they all knew it anyway.

Rick stretched. "Welp, I'm bored. Sittin' around here with a bunch of hoity-toity nobodies really ain't my scene. Gonna get a snack from the canteen, you comin'?"

"No."

He certainly wasn't going to move and relinquish the best seats in the stands.

Rick sighed. "Fine, will you look after Clark while I get somethin', then?"

The man didn't wait for a reply before he dumped the small dog on Don. He observed the white dog on his lap wearing its latest stupid-cute sweater. It seemed like Rick dressed it in increasingly ridiculous outfits every week.

Before Rick had got too far away he was approached by someone, and Don was  _not_  eavesdropping because they were still within his hearing range.

"Good evening, Mr Wei. You must be proud your daughter is captain of the hockey team," a man went over to strike up a conversation with Rick.

"Huh, who're you talking to? Me?" Rick looked around in bewilderment.

"Yes, you're here with Mr Don Wei, yes?" the man enquired confirmation. The boy with the man began yanking on his jacket.

"Uh, yeah," Rick said, "but I'm just a… friend of the family."

"That's Rick Thunderbolt!" the young boy pointed excitedly.

"Oh, my apologies! Is that true? And what do you do?" the man's entire countenance changed for the worse.

Rick paused, no doubt distressed that he still hadn't found a new career yet. "Retired star-racer."

"Can I have your autograph, sir?" the young boy asked.

But before Rick had time to reply the man turned his nose up and steered his son away. "Come along, Henry, we should get to our seats."

"But, father…!"

Rick paused like he'd just been slapped in the face and Don supposed he rather had, though more verbally. But Rick was nothing if not carefree so the man just shook his head with disbelief and waltzed into the school building.

Is that how people saw him and Rick? Rick did spend a considerable amount of time with them now. It was a relationship definitely beyond a post-business relationship. Like a very, very close family friend. He got the impression that Rick was a lonely man now, after his retirement and his friends all abandoning him. Life for the ex-pilot had got considerably more mundane that he would come to such an event to support Eva, and sit with her at home the times Don would work late, and sit up into the night with him talking or bring him coffee in his office... he rubbed his eyes.

"Got a drink for ya," Rick said, suddenly very close, surprising him.

He'd been so lost in his own head he hadn't noticed Rick return, now moving a cup around enticingly and drinking from his own.

"Thanks," he said, accepting it. It had come out sharper than intended. Looking away he crossed his legs and sipped the drink. Of course Rick knew that he drank tea during the day rather than coffee. He looked sideways as Rick chugged his drink.

Rick caught him staring. "What? I'm really thirsty—think I'm gonna need a refill at this rate! I tried cooking for myself last night," he laugh-sighed as he told his story, "I tried to make leek and potato gratin. Did you know that 2g ain't the same as 2oz? That was  _a lot_  of salt."

Don raised both eyebrows incredulously.

"I thought It didn't look right!" Rick adjusted his sunglasses in embarrassment. "I haven't been able to stop drinking since."

"Coffee won't help your thirst," Don lectured.

"Keeps me awake during the day though."

"Are you still having trouble sleeping?"

Rick waved his hand dismissively.

Before he could pester Rick about it a teacher came out to announce the match would be beginning. Both teams marched out onto the pitch and Eva stepped up to the other team's captain when instructed to. She won the coin toss and the game began.

"Why am I still holding your dog?" Don just realised.

"I thought you liked her now," Rick tilted his head.

He looked down at the thing. "I don't dislike it."

"Progress!"

Rick said that but Don still quickly passed the dog back over and brushed his clothes clean to an excessive extent.

Eva showed some surprising skill as a hockey player. Don had only ever seen her practising in the yard before but playing in an actual game she proved herself to be quite skilled. It was also a good, productive outlet for her to work out some frustration and aggression.

What aggression wasn't productive, however, was Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s—one of Eva's teammates—actions towards his daughter. Despite being on the same side the boy's plays were overly targeted and combative to the detriment of their team. He shoved and challenged Eva relentlessly, knocking her down and tripping her up multiple times. Eventually Eva's patience snapped and when Arnaldo Jr. Jr. made another move to intercept her play she stuck her stick out around his ankles and tripped him on his head.

Rick chuckled and Don smirked when the referee stopped the match to deal with the situation, and Eva sneakily and successfully argued it had been an accident allowing her to continue playing. The dazed boy was led off the pitch and benched where he sat the rest of the match staring off into the distance as if his brain had shut down

"Well," Rick observed Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s antics, less than enthused. "That kid certainly has some fire in him."

Despite the Arnaldo family's infamy and position in the star-racing industry neither Rick nor himself had given the youngest any thought or consideration before, so it wasn't strange that Rick was unfamiliar with the boy. Before the little brat had begun bullying Eva he had been irrelevant. But now…

Don released an aggravated sigh, frustrated that he couldn't do anything.

"If that boy doesn't stop bullying Eva I'm going to end him."

Rick glanced at him before turning back to the match as he spoke. "Yeah, I could see you being on the front pages for fighting a kid. Not sure who'd be the winner though."

"Are you implying I'd lose?" He knew he was frail but be realistic! "That's absurd."

"Don't debate me that you could beat up a kid," Rick laughed through his nose and when Don realised what he was actually saying he looked back at the game too, unable to prevent the minor blush on his face.

Rick laughed properly at that and he grumbled to himself. He always managed to get into these strange conversations with Rick these days.

"Arnaldo Jr. Jr., the one Eva punched. Sounds like she already beat you to it anyway," Rick's shoulders bounced as he chuckled. "Wish I coulda seen it. You think there's security cam footage of it?"

"There might just be," Don replied thoughtfully. He couldn't spread it around though, no matter how amusing it was immoral.

At half time both teams took a short break, sitting at the edge of the pitch. Eva gathered her team around to discuss what Don assumed were tactics for the second half. They were winning but that was no reason to get complacent. He was so proud of his daughter; Eva, usually, was headstrong and a loner who didn't like taking orders (like himself), and before now she hadn't shown any leadership skills. But now the team showed a genuine respect for her guidance and she was treating the role seriously.

Eva noticed them in the stands and waved.

When he and Rick waved back someone else in the stands also noticed them.

"Excuse me, sir, are you Mr Wei? Eva's father?"

He turned to see a woman with greying hair and small glasses had approached them.

"Yes," he answered, not entirely conversationally.

The woman instantly bowed to them and Rick made an uncomfortable noise in response. "I'm the caretaker of Arnaldo Jr. Jr. Ferro. Please accept my apologies for how he has been behaving today."

"The boy's behaviour so far has been beyond the pale. Unacceptable," he said firmly, unwilling to cut anyone some slack. The woman flinched.

"He recently injured himself, you see. I'm not privy to the details of how it happened," the nanny said and Rick did a strained snort as if trying not to laugh, "but ever since he has been acting out. I can only apologise again for how he has been treating your daughter."

It seemed as if the Arnaldos had done a decent job of covering up the incident between the boy and Eva to the point even the boy's own primary caregiver didn't know, so Don figured he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

"I will give him a stern talking to," the nanny went on.

"See that you do. I won't tolerate his treatment of Eva. If he doesn't stop, something will be done about it."  _Don't mention the nose incident, don't mention the nose incident._

The woman was nothing but apologies as she left, looking highly-strung and frazzled. He had no doubt that living and working with the Arnaldos was a stressful experience if their overall attitude persisted in the home.

"So Arnaldo Jr. sent his son's nanny to the match instead of coming himself," Rick summarised. "No wonder that kid's such a jerk, that nanny's basically his mom, huh?"

Don didn't feel like he had a right to comment on it.

In the end, despite playing a good game, Eva's team narrowly lost by one goal in the second half. The teams faced eachother and shook hands with their opponents in a good sportsmanlike manner then disbanded. Eva knew were they were so they stayed put, waiting for her to finish up with her team.

Rick gave his seat up for a miserable-looking Eva to take and took her hockey stick.

"We lost," Eva crossed her arms moodily and flopped down in the chair, sadly kicking her legs out and scuffing the floor.

"You may not have won, but you gave that boy a concussion and that's the biggest victory today," Don put his arm around her shoulders. First Eva had broken Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s nose and now his head, what a great week it had been!

"Dad," Eva blushed. He realised then that he probably shouldn't be encouraging her violent streak. "Do you really think he has a concussion?"

Thankfully she looked worried when she spoke that. Eva was fierce and strong-willed like her mother, but also compassionate and had sympathy for her enemies and rivals. Again he felt a swell of pride for her.

"No, I'm sure he's fine," he said reassuringly to her visible relief.

"Boys can take some punishment," Rick concurred. "It's not like that kid has anything going on in his head anyway."

Eva chuckled, her spirits already lifting when two of her friends-slash-teammates ran over, a brunette girl and a ginger girl. She jumped up to greet them. They looked to be the more down-to-earth type of girls unlike most of the rich students who attended the school.

"Hey, Eva! Could you  _believe_  Jr. Jr.?" the brunette immediately started gossiping. "He's such a jerk!"

"He cost us the game!" the ginger girl agreed.

Eva was visibly surprised with their opinions. "You think we lost because of him? Not because I—"

"I should give him a piece of my mind!" the ginger girl continued with all the melodramatic anger of a teen. "Um, but then his dad might call my mom, so..."

"He's such a spoilt crybaby," the brunette rolled her eyes. "We're supposed to be a team and he spent the whole game attacking Eva!"

Eva scoffed. "He's just mad because I hit—ah, got the captain position instead of him."

Both girls shuddered at the thought. "Man, if he was captain we wouldn't have even made it out of the friendlies as a team. Anyway, we'll do better next game, I'm sure!"

"Yeah, we just gotta practise more!" the brunette cheered. "Oh, hey! Next time my parents take me to the livery stables you've both got to come! I said I would teach you how to ride a horse!"

The ginger girl and Eva glanced at eachother and laughed nervously but happily then nodded to their friend.

"Aren't horses scared of mice?" Rick wondered aloud.

"Rick!" Eva shrieked and both the other girls giggled.

"Oops, c'mon, let's go," the ginger girl cut her friend off just as the girl opened her mouth to speak and led her away before she could launch into a long-winded rant about horses. "See you at school next week, Eva!"

Eva waved them off.

"Maybe we'll be replacing those star-racer posters in your room with horse posters," Don teased.

"Dad!"

Eva was all smiles when she turned back, her mood dramatically better. Don was very relieved that she had finally begun to make some friends and truly settle into her life. It was like they were almost a normal family now. Almost. He still had one more personal issue to surmount. His carelessness and selfishness had lost them all their physical memories of the past so he couldn't allow the now to slip by either!

"Clark, no! Damnit," Rick suddenly shouted and ran off after the little dog as it chased a wayward baseball that some other children were playing with. "Bad girl, come back! We're training to not do this! Clark!"

"Rick, you still have my stick!" Eva shouted as she made to chase after him.

"Eva."

Something in Don's tone stopped her dead in her tracks and she turned to him with a concerned expression. He had to say it now whilst he still had the confidence.

"Let's take a picture together," he held up his phone as proof.

Eva's eyes widened and she froze, still in the motion of walking off, and he really hoped he hadn't chosen a bad moment to finally grow a spine. But her shock was brief when a bright smile broke out over her face that warmed his heart.

He leant down with his arm out, inviting her and she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders like she'd never let go. How had he left it this long after their reunion to do this? He was a fool. Holding her securely he put the camera on a short timer.

"Okay, ready?"

Eva grinned at the camera, closed her eyes happily and whispered; "I love you, dad."

And a breath caught in his chest. He almost fumbled with the phone before it took several pictures.

He was fairly certain he was crying in the last one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the final issue Eva and Don have overcome now! Good job, guys!
> 
> New character joining soon *eyes emoji*


	12. Jordan

The pain of watching them— _her_ —leave still hurts. He doesn't know how much time has passed since that day; time on Oban passes at a different rate from the rest of the galaxy. His lifespan has lengthened exponentially and he has already grown tired of tracking the days as he experienced them.

His position on Oban is still unclear. It probably sounded too fantastical but he had expected a torrent of knowledge would flood his mind the moment he'd jumped and he'd settle into his role quickly. Knowledge certainly hadn't flooded his mind but a certain overwhelming awareness had.

Suddenly he was aware of everything that was occurring like his brain was quantum computing every possible outcome that could happen in every possible situation in the entire Milky Way, and he had to chose the correct outcome from an uncountable number of situations. It had knocked him into an almost catatonic state at that time. The only comprehensible thought that was in his mind back then was to stop the fledging war between the crogs and humans in low Earth orbit that he was suddenly aware the truce was broken.

The memories of his grandfather and his supposed traitorous betrayal of Earth to the crogs and the thought of the crogs colonising his home and hurting his family and friends, the struggles of that final race with Molly to deprive General Kross of power and with his emotions running on a high, the sudden rush of power had prompted that action.

But soon he found that he couldn't (and didn't want to) interfere with a lot of the events that were occurring in the Milky Way. Most planets and the species that inhabited them were unaware of his existence or how their galaxy was created and grew. He soon found out he was little more than a passive observer of life.

He had been in such a state that he couldn't bring himself to say goodbye to Molly as she left Oban. As she left his planet were he would likely never see her again—he had literally sent her away from him with his own ship. His body had been a glowing mass of barely-controlled energy and no matter how badly his heart had cried out for him to send her off safely he just could not bring himself to appear before her with such a body.

Hopefully he had managed to express the full extent of his feelings for her through their kiss.

Time has passed since that moment and he's regained his original body now; proof of this is his face begins burning at the memory. Wow, had he really had the courage to kiss Molly back then? It had felt almost like a hallucination in that white, featureless, dreamscape. The Creators are perplexed by his frequent thoughts about this.

On that subject; the Creators were less than helpful. When he and Molly had first encountered them they had been cryptic and standoffish and even now, as the Avatar, they remained unhelpful and somehow even  _more_  cryptic. His rejuvenation of the planet Oban had satisfied them for the time being (although if he were honest with them, that was something that had happened automatically and not something he had consciously done).

Though he had stopped counting the days that passed that didn't prevent the boredom. Sentient creatures were not meant for such isolation. He didn't know about Satis' species, but humans were social beings and even as an all-powerful overseer he needed the company of others. Sitting alone on a planet in the centre of their galaxy supervising the incubation of baby planets with little more than the company of some telepathic, anthropomorphic lion-things and some grumpy, glowing hieroglyphs wasn't the most mentally stimulating period of his life. If he couldn't talk to someone with a personality soon he'd go nuts!

This was his excuse to the Creators when he told them he would be dropping by Earth for a quick visit. Just a quick one though! Don't worry. He'd be back to farting around on Oban doing a whole lot of nothing soon.

They allowed it. Afterall the last thing they wanted was for another Avatar to go off the rails and what did they know about human health anyway?

So he turned his thoughts more seriously to Molly. They were an immeasurable distance apart but with his newfound power he could find her. He'd always wanted to do something big in his life and now visiting his teammmate was what he would use this privilege for. He knew he couldn't ever live back on Earth—not for long periods of time anyway. If he spent too long away from Oban the planet would begin to decay as if he weren't even still alive at all. The planet gave him this power but it also needed him to survive.

With a reassurance to the living planet that this would just be a short vacation to reinvigorate his mind (and heart) he began in earnest searching space for his friend. Earth was easy to find as he knew the precise location of each celestial body in his galaxy, but finding a single person on that planet was near impossible. Especially since Eva had not been forthcoming about her life, understandably apparently. She could literally be anywhere now, but...

He could pinpoint Molly's lifeforce. He could track her across the entire Milky Way if need be. He could never let go, and he never would.

"Hope you're home, Molly. I've travelled a long way to see you again."

He would see his friend again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A good boy will soon be making his début!
> 
> Eva will finally have someone her own age to hang out with. Rick is great to write but he's a lot older and more like a guardian (coughstepdadcough) than a friend—he teases her a lot and looks out for her, but Eva can never really get one over on him. Soon she'll have Jordan to banter back-and-forth with.


	13. The Avatar

He homed in on Molly's location, concentrating on her aura. As he travelled further away from Oban—closer to Earth—his confidence in his abilities grew. He could hear her, almost see her in his mind as space whizzed by him millions of miles a second. Her voice… he just had to concentrate on her voice, this conversation... and he was almost there...

" _What do you think would win in a fight? One horse-sized bee or a thousand bee-sized horses?"_

" _If the bee-sized horses could employ teamwork they would win."_

" _Maybe, but the bee would just eat 'em."_

" _Asian bees gather in swarms to kill larger predators. They vibrate to raise their body temperature and cook hornets alive, it's likely the horses could do the same to a large bee."_

" _Hmm, horses don't vibrate though."_

" _Bees don't eat horses either, this is **your**  hypothetical, Eva."_

**FLASH**

"Yikes!"

"Argh!"

He manifested in a strange kitchen with a blinding burst of light and a loud bang the force of which smashed all the bottles in the immediate area. Jordan looked around in bewilderment, unfocused, glowing yellow eyes trying to pick out familiar details.

"Please tell me I got the right place?" he stumbled a bit when he turned to face the blurry people in the room. "This could be real bad if not..."

Him and the two unknown people in the kitchen had a brief stand-off, each one of them too shocked to move, before...

"JORDAN!!" Molly screamed and tackled him hard, spinning them around.

"Give me strength..." Don moaned and fell back into the chair he'd jumped from, clutching his chest. "I think I'm having a heart attack..."

"Jordan, Jordan! How—why—what?" Molly babbled, not letting go of him. She didn't even care that she was covered in fruit juice from the sound explosion, and that he also was now.

"It worked?" he asked in a daze. But of course it worked—there was no one he could ever mistake for Molly. "It worked! Molly, it worked, I did it!"

His eyes cleared—the glow dissipating—so he could finally get a clear view of his friend. He hugged her hard, lifting her off the floor. Molly looked just as amazing as he remembered! When he put her down he gently touched her head, ran his fingers through a few strands of hair as if not believing she was real.

"Ow!"

Molly punched him. Yep, she was definitely real.

"You idiot! What did you do?"

Sheepishly he rubbed the back of his neck. "Just thought I'd drop in for a visit, heheh."

"You smashed my favourite glass!"

"Sorry," he hung his head at her reprimand.

The happiness then the anger vanished from Molly. A lot of emotions where happening in a very condensed space of time as he caught them flash across her face. Now she looked worried. "A-are you real?"

Her hand reached out to him but stopped short so he grasped it tightly. She was so warm…

"As real as you," he grinned proudly.

"Jordan… yeah, you really did it," she took her hand back and cradled it. "This is unbelievable. How…?"

"Magic?" he shrugged helplessly into an awkward pause.

"You look different," she told him.

"Yeah, I'm a natural blonde now," he grinned. "Gotta start dying the other half of my hair brown now, huh?"

Molly laughed happily though there was a note of a sob she couldn't hide.

"I'll show you around, c'mon!" Molly grabbed his hand with more confidence this time and led him to the kitchen doorway and swept her arm around the room. "Well, this is the kitchen. You already know dad."

He squeaked a bit when the man he had forgotten was there sent a glare his way before Don turned his attention back to the floor and his shoes that were covered in tea, and the smashed cup nearby. Molly yanked his arm to showcase the next room.

The tour of the house didn't interest him in the slightest. As Molly showed him around and pointed out interesting things he wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying; he was just looking at her.

She looked so happy. So alive. He couldn't remember her talking this animatedly and confidently before. Of course Molly had been confident in her piloting skills during the Great Race but he had sensed nothing but turmoil in her when she was outside of the cockpit. He could see in her aura a deep scar but that it was healing; now her aura was clear of any dark troubles.

Now her beauty shone with no obstructions.

"—that's my work room. It goes into the garage though, so everyone goes through it," Molly was pointing to a door with a skull and crossbones poison-designed plaque on it.

"You're amazing, Molly," he blurted out.

"Hah?" Molly blushed and looked up at him.

He heard Don clear his throat from somewhere nearby but out of sight and knew they were being monitored. Molly looked around then grabbed his hand again.

"Let's talk in my room."

* * *

 

"So, you remember what I said?"

"Huh?"

"When we were flying to the Temple of the Heart," Jordan looked at her with a level gaze. "You had a lot of explaining to do when we got back. And well..."

Molly smirked at him slyly. "So what do I call you? Your Lordship?"

It was just like Molly to turn a comment of his back on him. He matched her look and they had a brief stare-off. Then they both cracked up laughing.

When they recovered a strange sort of silence descended between them. It wasn't uncomfortable but it wasn't exactly pleasant either so Jordan took the moment to observe his friend's bedroom; this was probably the only room in the house he actually cared to see.

All the walls were covered in posters of various punk/rock bands, of star-racers, star-racing blueprints and recent pictures of Molly and Don (and Rick). It was not a tidy room. Things where scattered about—clothes, magazines, stuffed animals—all just lying around ready to be accidentally stepped on. There was a desk with books he assumed where school books because they all looked very boring, and a computer with a large monitor had been left to idle on some website. One thing he did notice was her pink walkman safely placed on a shelf with a photo of a younger Molly and her parents, but that seemed too personal to comment on.

"Nice digs," he whistled. This room was probably bigger than his family's entire house… okay, slight exaggeration, but her home certainly made him look like a pauper.

"Yeah," Molly replied distractedly. She cleared some junk off her bed and sat down, patting the area next to her inviting him to sit.

He plonked down on the bed with some force causing Molly to jump a little.

"So, spill it," he leaned back on the bed to get comfortable. Molly didn't reply for a long moment, probably searching for the right words and he wouldn't rush her. He had ten-thousand years ahead of him after all...

"My name is Eva Wei," she looked down at her hands surprisingly timidly, but she was smiling. "Don Wei is my dad. You know why I was racing; for my mother… and it didn't work out. But everything is okay now... in fact, it's better than okay. I'm..."

He watched his friend carefully as she trailed off into contemplation so he figured he should say something. "Oh… huh, that's pretty heavy. Gonna take some getting used to. But it's a pretty name..."

"Thanks," Eva replied genuinely, turning her soft smile onto him. He hoped his face didn't look as hot as it suddenly felt. "I'm so happy."

He swallowed hard. Oh, god.

"I-I'm so happy to hear that too," he choked out.

Eva looked at the bed, at his hand—moved her hand so that they were just barely touching—and he couldn't help the shiver that ran through his entire body. "I didn't get to say it on Oban back then but... Jordan, thank you. For everything you've done for me."

"No problem!" his voice was embarrassingly high when he responded.

Eva giggled with embarrassment herself; slapped her face with both hands to snap out of it. She crossed her legs on the bed getting more comfortable with the situation. "Alright, buddy! Now you have to tell me what you've been up to!"

It was a relief that Eva felt the same awkwardness as him. Geeze, anxiety and raging hormones pumping through a teenage boy as the most powerful being in their galaxy. What even was life anymore. He cleared his throat loudly.

"The Creators have been helping me still. There's a lot of info to take in all at once," Jordan began. "I can't tell you what kind of duties the Avatar performs but I do get free time! So I'll drop by whenever I can!"

"You can just come whenever, just like that?" Eva sounded amazed and hopeful.

"Well, Glowy isn't really happy about it," he folded his arms and grumbled.

"Glow—Glowy…?"

"Yeah, one of the Creators. I named her Glowy!"

"Jordan," Eva put her hand on his shoulder, looking deathly serious.

He could almost physically feel his heart drop into his feet at the sudden change in mood.

"That's a sucky name," she grinned.

"Wha—" he stammered, his mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish as he felt his heart return to its proper place. "No! It's a great name!"

Eva chuckled. "Did you name them all? They didn't seem like the type to enjoy that."

"They don't enjoy anything," he complained. "I don't think they have individual personalities so I can say what I want, to be honest. I don't think they understand much about the world outside of Oban. Probably don't care either."

"Sound like fun bosses," Eva sombrely concurred with sympathy.

"Huuuuuh," Jordan heaved a big sigh. "So Fuzzybutt didn't mind when I called him Fuzzybutt—Fuzzy for short."

"They're like your pets or something," Eva shook her head ruefully.

He waved his hands about frantically. "Don't let Tim hear that or he'll put me in space jail!"

" _Tim?_  Really, how are you  _so_  bad at this?" she facepalmed then froze and began looking around the room, spooked. "Wait, they can't hear us, can they?"

"I didn't want to say it, but," he allowed his eyes to sweep her bedroom suspiciously only adding to her paranoia, then scooted up closer to her. She squeaked when he covered her mouth with his hand and leaned in close. "No, they can't," he finished.

"Ugh! Jordan!" Eva shoved him off and punched his shoulder and he burst out laughing. "You're just as bad as Rick!"

"Go on then, if you're so smart, what would you call a pet?" he jokingly pouted, rubbing the impact area. "N-not that the Creators are my pets of course!"

"Gnasher!" Eva instantly responded. "I've been trying to convince dad to let us get a dog, but no luck, pfff. But I think I'm close to getting a rabbit."

"Rabbits suit you better anyway," Jordan said quietly. Cute and wary animals with strong instinct, but lovable and fun once bonded with. Rabbits where almost her mascot he remembered from that one makeover she and Rick had given the Whizzing Arrow.

"Huh?" Eva hadn't heard him.

He shook the thought out of his head. "Anyway! You, uh, think I could get some supplies to take back to Oban?"

"You're going back already?" she frowned.

"Maybe? I dunno?"

 _'Do you want me to go back?'_  was on the tip of his tongue but he refrained from commenting.

"What sort of supplies?" Eva asked.

"Earth stuff. Like, y'know," he flailed his hands uselessly as he tried to explain. "Games, a change of clothes—I'm still wearing the Earth Team uniform, see?—something to read, something to play music, food—like, I want some snacks and stuff even if I don't need it—a phone—"

"Do you get good reception on Oban?" Eva interrupted.

"I can  _make_  good reception!" he punched his hand with confidence, surprising Eva who had only been joking.

"Really!?" her eye lit up at the idea. "Then we could talk whenever we want!"

"Yeah! It's worth a shot, hey?"

"And if we got a phone to Aikka we could all talk together!" Eva pointed out excitedly.

Jordan immediately drooped at the mention of the Nourasian prince. "I-I guess we could do that..."

He jerked with surprise when Eva unexpectedly hugged him. "You're so amazing," she whispered with both awe and gratitude.

Timidly he returned her embrace. "Not half as amazing as you," he spoke softy into her hair, hoping that she hadn't heard him. "But I dunno where Aikka lives. Well, I know where Nourasia is but finding one person on a planet that size is impossible… even for the Avatar."

He didn't have a strong emotional bond with Aikka so he couldn't track the Prince in the same way he had tracked Eva, and to be honest, he wasn't willing to put the effort in.

"That's okay," Eva said as if she had expected that. She leaned back and he almost didn't want to release her. "I'm so glad I can talk to you, Jordan. I'll ask dad for another phone and we can try your plan."

"You can just get whatever you want?"

Eva rolled her eyes, drawing a picture of a dog in the air with her finger. "Not everything."

Neither of them mentioned his confession or the kiss.

* * *

 

Eva led him out of her room and back into the hall where Don had apparently chosen to wait. Jordan didn't like the look the man was giving him but Eva seemed oblivious as she dragged him over to her father.

"Uh, hello, sir!" Jordan had to stop himself from saluting. Don nodded. "I'm—uhhh—sorry about your kitchen! I'm still, um, learning..." he laughed awkwardly.

"It's alright, no biggie," Eva answered for her dad when he didn't reply. Jordan very much doubted it was alright. "How long are you here for?"

He could sense the trepidation in Eva's voice as she asked.

"Are you going home?" Eva continued. "Um, home to your family, I mean? Or… home to Oban too I guess..."

Home to Oban. Yeah, Oban really was home now, huh?

"I… I don't know," he muttered with uncertainly. "I don't know if this is a thing I can really do? Can I do this for long enough…. Is it really okay? I don't…. want to go home until I'm sure. I can't do that to my family..."

They stood in a contemplative silence for a long moment; Jordan's eyes were cast down to his clenching and unclenching hands in thought. Finally Eva thought to break the silence.

"That's okay, Jordan. You can stay here!"

"Oh, he can, can he?" Don quickly rebutted.

"Dad, there's no way he can go out yet, it could be dangerous! What happens if he does some  _Avatar_ _S_ _tuff_  by accident?" Eva pleaded whilst Jordan looked up hopefully with large eyes. "If anyone finds out you know what the President will do to us! And… he's done so much for me, I can't not..."

Don watched his daughter's sullen expression and his scowl softened. He threw up his hands, "fine! Fine. Soon this house will be full of free-loaders… probably people I've never even met before… let's get Sul in here while we're at it… can't just have a quiet life at home..."

He started off down the hall muttering to himself. Eva and Jordan grinned then high-fived eachother.

"I heard that!" Don turned around and motioned for Jordan to follow. "Well, get a move on!"

Jordan panic-jogged on the spot for a moment before following to the far end of the hall (noticeably the complete opposite end from where Eva's room was), and entered the room that he was directed to. It was small and basic with little of interest in it, but it was more than enough space to put all the things he no longer owned.

"By the way, Rick takes the room next door occasionally," Don commented then sighed. "So that's a thing."

His eyes lit up at the mention of the ex-racing champ before surveying his new room again. "Thanks, Mr Wei."

"No," Don said, causing Jordan to look back. The man coughed then looked him square in the eyes with a deadly serious expression. "Thank  _you_ ," he said, then quickly retreated from the room.

Jordan cocked his head in confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the Jordeva! It's largely a background thing with Jordan being a sad, pining boy because Eva is still not really THAT into romance, but it's there! Simmering.
> 
> I know Satis said the Avatar can't use their powers for self-gain but he couldn't even follow the ONE rule set for the Great Race so screw him LOL


	14. Movie Night

Jordan didn't actually need to sleep anymore and the Creators worked him pretty hard, so sleep had become more of a guilty pleasure now, and yet he still managed to be the last one to rise and appear the next morning for breakfast at the Wei residence.

It was super awkward.

Well, Eva didn't seem to think it was as she acted oblivious; chattering away very animatedly, and Don didn't seem to want to put any effort into caring one way or the other. So really it was just him feeling super awkward by himself for no reason. Maybe he just felt intrusive?

"You know, I don't need to eat anymore," he piped up. "It's just for fun."

"So you're a waste of resources," Don summarised.

"Dad!" Eva scowled and sometimes she looked so similar to her father it was a little unnerving.

But Don didn't look particularly bothered by the reprimand as they continued eating. Jordan might have been the Avatar but he lacked the home field advantage here, and he had to be on his best behaviour lest he get thrown out—the military training was perhaps a little  _too_  ingrained.

"What're we gonna do today?" he asked hopefully.

"It's Wednesday so Eva has school," Don informed him as Eva let out a long-suffering groan.

"Wednesday..." he murmured. He hadn't even thought about what day of the week it was, what week of the month it was or even what year it was. As far as he experienced it time was no longer relative and it had not been a concern when he'd decided to visit.

"I'll take that as a hint to get my stuff ready," Eva complained.

"Good girl."

She slumped off dramatically to go gather her things and he heard Don chuckle with amusement. But with Eva gone that left him and Don alone together and he had never even tried talking to the man one-on-one before,  _especially_  not now that it was known him and Eva were family.

He fiddled with his fingers awkwardly. "Sooooo..."

"You don't need to fill the silence," Don said.

"Oh, thank god," he slumped over the table with relief.

Thankfully Eva returned quickly. "I think my bag gets heavier everyday! Why do I need so many books?"

He almost jumped up to help her but thought better of it.

"You have hockey today, yes?" Don asked. "Don't let that little rat-brained cretin bully you or I'll have his head."

"That's great, but if you get arrested for killing Arnaldo Jr. Jr. I won't be happy," Eva protested with a smile.

"Alright," Don gave in easily as Eva heaved her bag onto her shoulder. "Let's get to school then."

"Wait! What am I meant to do?" Jordan whined.

"I suppose you'll have to stay in the house," Don reluctantly said. "Don't touch or disturb anything; I have the air con how I like it and the setup in the garage is intended. In fact, just stay in your room."

"Dad, you need to chill."

"And Rick may or may not come for a visit while we're gone, it's random," Don continued.

"I'll be back in the afternoon!" Eva called cheerfully as they moved into the hallway. "Stay out of my room! Unless you want to do my homework in which case please go in my room!"

"Do not do Eva's homework and do  _not_  go in her room!"

They left him sadly staring in the direction of the door as it closed. Like a metaphor for his relationship with Eva, he groaned. Just sat alone, in an empty kitchen that wasn't even in his own house, unwanted thoughts rattling around his skull. What was he even doing here? Of course Eva had a life of her own to live, of course she couldn't just drop everything and give him the attention he craved whenever it pleased him to visit.

But their parental interaction brought to mind his own family. What must they think? Surely they missed him. His mother was probably beside herself with worry. Maybe he could just check up on them—quickly! It wasn't like he had anything else to do until Eva got back from school. If he kept his distance, his parents wouldn't notice… was mom still a housewife? Did dad still work in the factory?

Next thing he knew he was sat in the middle of the street outside his parent's home, chair and all.

"Wahh!"

A car honked its horn and he dived out of its path. The driver leant out of the window screaming obscenities at him as the chair passed under it and it drove off. Sheepishly he rubbed the back of his neck and retrieved the chair. He really had to get this unintentional teleporting under control. If he had a strong emotional moment about a known location sometimes he'd just appear at that place.

He stood to the side a safe distance away from his home. It was a narrow three-storey townhouse with steps leading directly onto the pavement. The potted plants that his mother cared for so much still looked healthy. It was strange that such a small detail could make his chest tighten.

Someone exiting the house next door pulled him out of his pondering. It was a decrepit old guy locking the door.

"Excuse me, sir!" he approached the person. "Is there anyone living next door?"

The man eyed him suspiciously, which was perfectly understandable. Jordan had never seen this person before when he'd being living with his family so he must've either been a guest of the neighbours or the new neighbour himself.

"Are you delivering chairs, young man?" the older gentleman asked.

"Huh? Uh, yeah! Next door, no.153, Wilde residence?"

Quick thinking!

The man nodded. "Eeyeah, they're away. Should I take it in for them? They've been good to my wife and I—she's disabled you see and can't leave the house."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

It was just like his overbearing, over-caring mother to take it upon herself to care for their neighbours too. She couldn't keep her nose out of anyone's business, he recalled fondly.

"Do you mind if I ask some questions? To verify you're a neighbour?"

"Ask away, I'm happy to speak to someone."

That made him feel guilty for harassing and taking advantage of this kind old man's time.

"Does my d—Mr Wilde still work at the factory?"

"Oh, yes, very dedicated."

"Is… Mrs Wilde still a homemaker?"

"Indeed! Why sometimes she even sends over dinner to my wife and I. Lovely lady."

"The brother—uh—younger one? I heard he had joined a baseball team?"

"That menace! Did you know he smashed my window not two days ago," the man pointed out an upstairs window that was covered with a tarp. "An accident, I'm sure, but Mrs Wilde was terribly upset. I hope the child wasn't punished too strictly."

Ohh, he could only imagine the strict parenting his father had acted upon his poor, rambunctious little brother. The uptight military parenting passed down from his grandfather was certainly a thing coupled with his overbearing mother… his brother would be scrubbing cars and cleaning gutters to earn enough money for a replacement window.

"They did offer to pay for repairs," the wobbly old gentleman confirmed his thoughts. "Are you a friend of the family? You seem very knowledgeable."

"Uh! No!" he panicked. "This is just, uuh—the information we—uh—have on file. I… are they well?"

The man paused and Jordan could guess why.

"I'm sorry to say they had an elder son who's been missing for a few months now, some army nonsense."

The Earth Coalition must have concocted some story to explain his disappearance. Even though he hadn't completed his military training and shouldn't have been deployed yet it was a career choice that provided plenty of convenient excuses.

"What a world that such a young man should be dragged to war," the old man shook his head. "His poor mother refused to accept it, Mrs Wilde put missing flyers up all over the neighbourhood. There might still be some around here."

Jordan gulped when the guy took a good, thoughtful look at him then.

"Why, you're the spitting image of the boy. Different eyes and hair though, hmm."

"Thank you for your time, sir!" He thought he should probably get away now. "Please deliver this chair when the Wildes return!"

The old man paused before taking the chair. "Of course, thank you for stopping to chat. I do enjoy meeting new people, do you think you could help—"

"I have to get back to work now," Jordan tapped his watchless wrist. "Lots of other chairs to deliver. See you, sir!"

He tried to not rush off too obviously.

"What a strange young man," he could hear the old guy saying to himself. "So caring, must be a premium delivery service."

He just prayed that Don didn't kill him for giving away the chair.

Teleporting back to the Wei kitchen his mood had been lifted tremendously after the unintentional detour to his home. He hadn't seen his family but it was a great relief that they were doing okay without him. Of course he'd known his mother would be worried sick still but she was surviving, and his father was a strong rock for her to lean on. His little brother was probably on the receiving end of their overprotectiveness and unlike Jordan his brother revelled in that kind of attention. At least… they weren't alone, he smiled. They would be okay.

"Jordan, we're back!"

Eva returned home from school when she said she would. As Don went to lock himself in his office Eva went to the kitchen to retrieve snacks, stuffing her face with some sort of huge marshmallow bun.

"You want to toss a ball about in the yard until dinner?" she traded a baseball between her hands. "We're having chow mein."

"Sounds good," he said, still a bit distracted.

Eva stopped and turned to him with concern. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yep, everything's great!"

"Hey!" Eva shouted when he walked by and grabbed the ball from her, running away before he realised he didn't actually know how to get out of this house-maze and into the garden. Eva laughed when she caught up and began shoving him in the correct direction.

They spent hours outside between playing ball and messing around in the garage as the late afternoon began to turn into evening when they were called in for dinner. It reminded him of his childhood playing with his baby brother and friends. He wondered if his life was the sort of childhood Eva had dreamt of.

"Rick!"

Later that evening after dinner when it was dark, the ex-racing champ dropped by the house with supplies. Jordan couldn't stop himself from jumping up and hugging the guy.

"Hey, there, my man," Rick shoved him off after a brief struggle. "Good to see ya."

"Clark, no! Naughty girl!" Eva chided a small dog that had come with Rick and was currently trying to chew through a bag of popcorn that had been dropped.

"Heard about your new job, congrats. Quite the promotion from military drone, huh?"

He rubbed his nose proudly. "Ain't no one better."

Rick was so cool and easy to talk to. It felt like nothing ever phased the guy, not even this almighty Avatar business. He was incredibly grateful to his friends for not treating him any different.

"I brought the stuff for movie night," Rick explained as he collected the fallen bags. "Got these weird red twizzeler things too? Everyone likes cherry, right?"

"It's movie night?" Jordan cocked his head.

"Every other Wednesday!" Eva said as she cuddled the dog.

They all gathered in the sitting room; him and Rick on the sofa with Eva sandwiched between them, and Don in a separate chair with Clark.

"Taking bets on who dies!" Rick announced. "My money is on the scientist who's the only guy who understands what's happening."

Apparently they had a game where they would watch a random movie and guess overused film tropes and whoever won got some kind of bonus for the next week.

"The kindly old mentor guy," Jordan joined in.

"The jerkass rival," Eva guessed.

"The villain."

"That's cheating, dad!"

"Okay, the dog."

"NO!"

"I just want to win once, let me have this!"

"You lose because you use logic to guess," Rick pointed out. "Hollywood ain't logical."

"Hollywood is dumb," Eva agreed.

"Why would somebody run the length of a falling tower? Why would they not run perpendicular to the tower!?" Don began ranting, clearly upset about a plot point from a previous movie night.

"Serious answer," Rick prompted as he began writing notes in a notebook.

"The villain," Don insisted.

"Fiiiine," Rick grumbled. "I guess we could make the prize something small..."

It was the most bizarre scene Jordan had witnessed from what was once the Earth Team. So weirdly relaxed and jovial. His last experience with them he remembered everyone to be stressed and angry, and the world was ending. Rick had split early due to his career-ending injury, Eva had been self-destructing with guilt and Don had outed himself as her father. Now everyone was arguing about whether salted or sweetened popcorn was better.

What the hell.

It was obviously sweetened.

"Who's corner you in?" Rick looked to him hopefully. "Eva and Don's or mine?"

He didn't know whose corner was which but; "sweet of course!"

"Darn it," Rick accepted his lonely fate.

"Rick's a freak who likes salted," Eva laughed. The man shrugged.

"Guess I'll continue to be the only one with taste then. It's a tough life but someone's gotta live it," he ate some of the popcorn as a demonstration.

The movie they watched was one of his favourites from the turn of the century, so it was an old classic. But he soon learned that definitely didn't protect it from criticism as Eva complained that romance was 'boring' and everyone was stupid, and Don about how such ridiculous happenstance would never occur in real life.

"Every. Time. You see what I have to put up with," Rick jovially said to him as an aside.

"Yeah..."

It was pretty amusing.

They were all so comfortable together.

And he wanted to be too.

Throughout the movie he'd occasionally glance at Eva pushing more popcorn into her mouth than could realistically fit. That she was happy made him happy, and sooner than he realised the movie was over.

"I'm so glad Mark and Bridget Jones got together," Jordan wiped a tear away as the credits began to roll.

"Are you crying? Seriously?" He squirmed as Eva ruthlessly began poking his side and teasing him as Don sighed.

"No one died this time," there was a definite smug tone as Rick spoke up which just caused Don to sigh again. harder this time.

"I just can't win. Did you pick this one on purpose because of my answer?"

"Genuinely, no," Rick shook his head and jerked his thumb in Jordan's direction. "Newbie choice."

"That was an OLD movie," Eva pointed out as she slouched down the sofa. "Too much popcorn, I think i'm gonna vom..."

"Not on the carpet," Don said sharply.

Eva raised her arms listlessly. "Someone carry me to my room."

It had been years since he'd had so much fun. Not since he'd left home and joined the military, certainly not during or after the Great Race, not since his own childhood actually. Eva smiled at him.

Yeah, she had a life of her own and yeah, he had his new existence. He wouldn't expect her life to revolve around him. He would be happy with the times like these they could find to spend together. He had… all the time in the world. This was nice, he thought as he watched Eva start a food fight with Rick.

A wayward piece of salted popcorn got stuck in his hair so he popped it into his mouth and hummed appreciatively. "… it's not bad."

"I told you!" Rick crowed triumphantly "Welcome to the Good Taste Club, buddy."

"Gross, Jordan," Eva stuck out her tongue.

"I'm not cleaning all this up," Don grumbled.

Yeah, it was nice.

Weird but nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funnest chapter to write yet tbh :) Things are getting very light-hearted now.


	15. Wei

He likes Rick.

That conversation between Rick and the man he had overheard from the sports day at Eva's school had continued to pester him. He couldn't get it out of his head. All the work in the world couldn't distract him from that thought and what it meant. Even when the Race Association called about Japan winning the Grand Prix bid he couldn't keep his mind on those very important matters, and it was getting worse by the day.

If that's how people already saw him and Rick, then would it really be so bad?  _Grrrrrgh_ , yes, it would be bad! The pen in his hand creaks as his hand tightens around it. He can't do that. He doesn't deserve to have that.

The bitter persona he created for himself after Maya's death was so well-crafted that it permanently supplanted his original self. Only Eva and Rick could break through it and reach whatever was left deep inside.

And it annoyed him that Rick had that ability.

* * *

His worst nightmare is revealed when he comes into their kitchen to find Maya in an apron stood at the counter chopping vegetables into wonky slices. Eva is sat at the table in her high chair happily playing with some plastic building blocks.

"What's happening?" he asks warily.

Maya spins around looking like a ray of sunshine but he can feel only dread. "Today I want to cook for my baby and my husband!"

Don panics. "That's not necessary. I like cooking."

"I know, but today it's my turn!" Maya says brightly and turns back to what's she'd doing.

And what she's doing, she's doing it badly. Well, if he can't stop her maybe he can supervise and try to mitigate the damage.

"So what're you making?"

Maya squints at the recipe book that's covered in food splatters and barely legible. "Some kind of… curry?"

" _Some_  kind of..." he repeats.

Eventually Maya gets sick of him watching over her shoulder and trying to interfere so she tells him to either shut up or get out. He chooses to go into another room and have a little crisis in private.

Dinner comes and Maya is looking at him expectantly but he can't talk. If he opens his mouth he doesn't think he can stop himself from spitting the food out, not that Maya isn't suspicious given the obviously uncomfortable expression on his face.

The thin sheen of sweat that's forming on his forehead is also a dead give away as he forces himself to eat and it wasn't because of the hot curry. It's so unpleasant but Maya looks so hopeful. Sadly (or thankfully?) his body rebels after only a few mouthfuls and he can't stop himself from heaving.

"I have to go!" he dashes from the dining room.

"Don, what—?" Maya calls out after him worriedly. While she's distracted Eva grabs a fistful of the curry and is about to put it in her mouth. "Eva, no!"

Maya saves her daughter from also falling victim to her cooking.

For close to two weeks after, Don had food poisoning. Maya never made anything more complex than a bowl of cereal again.

* * *

The memories haunted him. No, that wasn't quite the right word. He'd spent ten years blocking anything and everything about life with his family but now things were different from those ten years—better—he couldn't stop the memories from resurfacing at the most inopportune times.

He enjoyed telling Eva about her early childhood because he loved her unrestrained interest and excitement, and how open the emotions were on her face and in her words. He enjoyed talking to her about Maya and how cute Eva was as a baby (and Eva repeatedly tells him to stop talking about that particular subject so much), and despite there being no physical proof left of anything of what he said, Eva believes every word.

But when he was alone, he wanted to be alone, without these memories. But, now, when he tried not to think about Maya he instead found himself thinking about  _Rick_. And that felt like a betrayal.

_click, click, click, click, click_

Subconsciously he was clicking the pen, too distracted to work.

* * *

Eva caught some kind of sickie bug from the other children and brought it home. It's the finals tomorrow so Maya absolutely cannot get sick. It kills her inside that she can't read to her daughter when Eva wants it, but she has a poor immune system as much as she won't ever admit that out loud.

So tonight Don is reading to Eva, despite her obvious upset about it.

"I want mommy!" Eva cries from bed. She's just two years-old.

"Mommy has to prepare for her race tomorrow so you'll have to make do with daddy tonight," Don says lightly. "So what are we reading?"

Eva pouts and hugs her stuffed toy tighter but she's too much of a good kid to make a fuss. She won't speak to him but points out a book and he has to restrain a groan; it's that book about the young rabbit  _again_. But Eva is more tired than usual and he barely gets halfway through before she's nodded off to sleep.

He puts the book away, kisses Eva's forehead and leaves the room quietly.

"So you got the rabbit one again," Maya says as he leaves the door ajar and he visibly jumps at her unexpected presence. She covers her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Where you listening the whole time?"

"Yeah. My poor baby, I hate seeing her like this. Maybe I can just give her one goodnight kiss..."

Don puts his arm out across the doorway to block her. "Nope. You know it won't just be that, and she's asleep now anyway."

"Ugh! You're so mean!" Maya stamps her foot. She crosses her arms and turns away in a huff. It's cute but he knows better than to say that out loud.

"I don't like both my girls being angry with me."

Maya groans in defeat at his sad tone. She turns back and takes his hand and he brushes her hand with his thumb. Though they try not to talk about work at home it's an inevitability at such an important point.

"I've got everything prepared for the finale tomorrow," she says.

"Good. I don't want Arnaldo Jr. to win."

"You guys really don't get along, do you?"

"What?" Don says incredulously. "Don't you think he's incredibly annoying? He flaunts his connections and the only reason he's got this far is because of his father. That type of nepotism is infuriating! You've worked the hardest to get to the finals—"

"Don't worry," Maya interrupts. She makes a confident fist with her other hand and grins, and in the darkness she looks almost feral. "We'll destroy them."

"I love you."

"Calm down, tiger," Maya chuckles and kisses him.

* * *

A tear fell on the paper he was working on. He snarled, tearing the paper from the ledger and crumpled it into a tiny ball, throwing it somewhere into the back of the room. This happened numerous times until he'd run out of paper to throw and rubbed his eyes instead.

"Shit."

He rested his head in his hands with his hands in his hair pulling until it hurt, his eyes closed tightly. The dim light from the desk lamp felt almost blinding.

* * *

"Are you excited to watch mommy race today?"

"Yeah!" Eva jumps about happily.

Don puts his hands on his hips. "Then you have to get dressed, young lady."

"Don't wanna!" Eva continues jumping around in her pyjamas.

Eva's just turned three and begun developing a slight rebellious streak. She's learnt that her parents have wisened up to her tactics and that fake crying doesn't get her what she wants anymore, so now she's trying a more direct approach.

"Let's see what's in here anyway," Don says as he opens her wardrobe. It's packed with cute dresses and tiny shoes; he picks something he knows Eva doesn't like anymore. "How about this?"

"I hate it!" It's a word she's learnt the strength of and now uses it for anything that she even slightly dislikes.

"If you don't want to wear it you should come pick something yourself," Don says and Eva is successfully tricked as she hops over and begins poking through her clothes. She chooses a red Peter Pan-collar styled dress.

Don gets her ready and really, Eva is such a patient, sweet and well-mannered girl. She rarely throws tantrums and isn't selfish. As he's about to tie her shoes, Eva moves her feet away.

"I wanna do it," she puffs out her cheeks.

"Okay, you're a big girl now?"

"Yeah!" Eva struggles to tie her shoelaces on one foot but she looks proud of the mess she's created and thinks that it's a success. "Finished!"

"That's great, Eva, well done! Can daddy do your other shoe?" he smiles. When Eva nods he ties her other shoe and when she's not looking he fixes the first one.

Maya walks into the room and scoops Eva into her arms. "Ooh, my baby looks so cute! Wha—don't want a kiss from mommy?"

Eva giggles and struggles to keep Maya from kissing her cheek. "I'm a big girl now, look!" she kicks her feet out, showing her mom her shoes.

"Mommy's so proud of you!" Maya play-gasps and Eva is beaming.

As Maya hugs her daughter tighter and sways with contentment, Don comes over and puts his arms around them. Maya leans into him and Eva giggled happily.

* * *

When he opened his eyes he realised he had his arms wrapped around his body like he was hugging himself. Putting his head back to take a deep breath he then let his arms hang limply by his side. His eyes felt dry now but the heavy-headedness that came after crying was there. He could probably fall asleep in the chair right then as long moments passed, the only sound in the room that of the ticking of an analogue clock.

But a surge of frustration rose. He growled, his hands making fists and with a deep, angry breath he jerked up and swiped everything off his desk in one sudden movement. The clock stopped ticking when it hit the floor and the lamp smashed reducing the room to darkness.

Don put his weight on his arms, resting on the desk and hung his head.

* * *

"I want a baby."

Don chokes on his own breathing.

"Don't make a scene, we're in public," Maya says as she pats his back.

They're on a date, walking through a beautiful park together. Maya isn't terribly famous yet so they can still enjoy some personal time in public.

Once he's recovered, Don says; "what kind of baby?"

"Uh, a human one?" Maya raises an eyebrow.

"Where're you going to get one of those from?"

"You?" Maya huffs. "Stop messing with me, I'm serious!"

They're holding hands so she jerks his arm for emphasis and he laughs softly. A wonderful smile is gracing her lips as she continues.

"I want a family—a bigger one. I want to share our love with a child."

Maya doesn't have an ideal family and he doesn't have any at all so all they have is eachother. Though he's surprised that she'd want to take a short break in her racing career to start a larger family.

"Plus you're getting old," Maya adds cheekily.

"What!?" he exclaims. He's only thirty-one!

"When the baby is eighteen you'll be, like, fifty. That's only ten years from retirement."

"I'm  _not old_ ," he whines. He's ten years older than Maya and he wishes she'd stop bringing it up—it makes him feel dirty. Like getting off with your own pilot isn't already skeevy enough. They'd been dating for a year and married for six months.

As usual, Maya can read his mind. She stops them and kisses him and he stops worrying.

"Okay."

"Okay, you're old?"

"No," he sighs. "Okay, let's have a baby."

She kisses him again.

* * *

In the total darkness of his office he was slouched over his desk, half asleep in his own misery when the door opened with a click, surprising him. It was the last person he wanted to see right now.

"Hey, Don, you in here? Don?" Rick asked the room softly.

Don was grateful that the room was so dark that Rick couldn't see what a pathetic state he was in. He didn't trust his voice to remain steady so he didn't respond but Rick noticed him anyway.

"You're sleeping in here again?" Rick sounded disappointed. "I thought you'd stopped doing that cos you complain about your back every morning after."

He complained about a lot of things; Rick truly had a lot of patience with him. The unwanted thought made him mentally snarl at himself.

"Get out, Rick," was what he managed to say out loud, tiredly.

But Rick didn't leave—he rarely did as he was told these days. He moved further into the room when his foot touched the broken clock surrounded by the other items on the floor, and it was probably then that he realised Don wasn't just working late that night.

"Was there an earthquake in here?" Rick tried to joke but Don wasn't in the mood. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, more seriously.

Of course from Rick's perspective there should be nothing wrong. In an ideal world there wouldn't be anything wrong and he shouldn't be feeling like he does. But he can't deal with it right now—he needed some more time to think and he was far too tired for that. His razor-thin patience was straining.

"Whatever it is you should think about it in the morning with a clear head," Rick said. He picked up the lamp, mindful of the glass shards that had scattered about.

The advice only served to make Don angrier. This wasn't something that could simply be resolved in the morning! And he didn't need to be mollycoddled like a—!

"You're not my wife, Rick! Get out!" Don yelled. He was loud and his voice broke slightly.

Rick froze, his sunglasses slipping down his nose slightly. Then he backed up out of the office without a word and quietly shut the door.

In the darkness Don realised what he had just said and fully collapsed on the desk. He was just about getting his life back together and repairing his and Rick's relationship and this shit goes and happens. If only he could walk out into the forest, fall in a hole and die.

He can't like Rick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don, please. Deal with your emotions better!
> 
> Omg, the OG Weifam is so cute! Why isn't there a fic dedicated to them? I know this old fandom is dead af and like 2 people are reading this fic but I want to be CRUSHED under the weight of some serious fluff <3
> 
> When I get to the real self-indulgent stuff soon I might become too embarrassed about it to continue posting this fic LOL I get very self-conscious about non-canon shipping. I probably need to clean up the tags too.


	16. Earth Grand Prix Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE HAVE AN EXTRA LONG TWO-PART CHAPTER AND I AM VERY SORRY LMAO

One night Don informed them that Japan had won the bid for the Earth Grand Prix and the date that it would be occurring. A few days later that same information was released by the news as well. Eva squealed when he told her that she would be coming too. It would be the first Grand Prix she could experience in person and not just via a TV she had to fight other Stern boarders for control over.

And best of all; no school for a month!

"I want to come too!" Jordan exclaimed.

Don looked at the boy. "If you want to come I won't stop you, but I'm also not paying for you. Find your own way."

Eva was quite annoyed with her dad's response but in his eyes Jordan was just a frequent house guest who was a mild nuisance sometimes, so it made sense he wouldn't be inviting the boy along. She knew for a fact that Rick would be coming with them, though he wasn't present at the moment.

"Thanks, Mr Wei!" Jordan pumped his fists with excitement.

The comment hadn't seemed to phase Jordan though. He was used to making his own way in life. It seemed like he was legitimately stoked that he had been allowed to come at all even if he had to pay for himself. But how would he do that? He didn't have a job...

Turned out the ex-military cadet's solution to his money problem was to work his ass off doing endless backbreaking menial jobs for the neighbours for pocket change (rich people sure were stingy with their money). Eva thought her dad would be impressed with Jordan's work ethic if not for the fact that as Jordan got further out into their neighbourhood the home owners grew more suspicions of him and called the police. By the fourth time the police brought Jordan back to their doorstep and Don had to keep thinking of new excuses, her dad was shouting at and scolding him like Jordan was his son.

But still, Jordan had managed to raise the funds just in time.

The night before they left Eva visited his room. He still had very few possessions but she did notice a strange missing persons poster of him that Jordan had on his wall. She decided it best not to comment on it.

"Couldn't you just teleport to Japan?" she asked.

"I-I… what?" Jordan's face scrunched up in confusion. "I could! Oh, my god, I forgot! I forgot, Eva, what the hell! Why did I do all this!? I'm so stupid..."

He had begun to lead his life on Earth in such a mundane and normal manner that he'd sometimes forget he was the most powerful being in their galaxy with abilities beyond imagination.

"Jordan," Eva said fondly. "You're a dumbass."

When the time came Jordan still joined them on the plane, though he did have to sit in standard class with the rest of 'the rabble' as Don put it whilst Rick, her dad and herself flew business class. Eva did sneak her friend some of the fancy titbits of food served in business class to the dirty looks of the other standard class passengers, and after a certain point Jordan had to nervously tell her to stop lest a fight break out.

The flight arrived in Japan without a standard class uprising and a private car came to take them to the hotel assigned by the Race Association. Eva and Jordan spent the whole journey with their faces smushed up against the windows awing at the scenes they passed and excitedly pointing out places they wanted to visit. Rick and Don had barely spoken to eachother the whole journey, though not for a lack of Rick trying.

Their hotel was in the heart of the Tokyo Metropolitan area with a specialised train line that went solely to the Meiro track where the Grand Prix would be held. Eva nearly fell over backwards as she gazed up at the triple digit storey building; it was dizzyingly tall! And their rooms where right on the upper floors. Eva read over the info leaflet the hotel provided as Don booked them all in.

The lift journey up the hotel felt nearly as long as the journey from the airport the building was so tall, and she had noticed numerous other star-racing officials milling around as they all went to their rooms. Her and Don where sharing a double suite and Rick in the room across the hall. Jordan had managed to book a room on the same floor but it was quite a distance down the hall, and Eva wasn't exactly certain how he had afforded it but suspected Rick might have been involved.

"Let's dump our stuff and try out the pool," Jordan suggested. "It's on the roof!"

"I'll meet you there!" Eva gave Jordan a thumbs-up as the boy ran down the hall.

The jet lag was beginning to hit her now that Eva was within reach of a bed but that wouldn't stop her from exploring the high class room. It was large with a joint lounge area—sofas, a large TV, mini bar, a phone and other typical hotel necessities—with two bedrooms off to either side. She rushed into the left side room to claim it and dropped her suitcase.

"There's a mint on the bed," Don observed from the other room.

"Me too!" she shouted back. "What flavour is it?"

"It's peppermint," he said, disgusted.

"It's peppermint!" she said, happily.

She threw herself face down on the large luxury bed, rolling the mint around her mouth and listening to her dad cough and splutter across the way. The bed was so soft and bouncy; she had never been in such a fancy room before with an en suite bathroom to call her own. From the balcony that stretched across the entire double suite overlooking the Tokyo Metropolitan area the race track was even visible.

When she came out of her room after freshening up she saw Don setting up a laptop on the desk, but he also already had his regular work laptop too. Suspicious...

"Why do you have two laptops?"

"One's for work, obviously. And this one," he indicated the setup, "is for your online tutoring."

"My… what? MY WHAT? No!"

"Yes," he smiled almost evilly. "I'm not going to allow you to miss a month of school, and I certainly wasn't leaving you home alone for a month, so this is a good compromise."

She hung her head in sorrow. How did her dad manage to keep doing this? No matter the circumstance he always managed to find a way for her to continue her education. It really shouldn't have surprised her anymore and yet somehow she still kept getting bamboozled.

"Fiiiiine," she draped herself over the nearest sofa in defeat. "Can't believe I have to study on vacation..."

Don put the room key on her when she wouldn't move. "I'll be going to the track to oversee preparations."

Of course her dad couldn't take five minutes to chill out even after flying halfway across the world. Sure, flights were fast and they'd been in the best class but still, the point stood. The Shrike would be arriving soon but it would've been nice to relax and spend some time together first.

"I'm really tired," she admitted. "But tomorrow can I come with?"

"Of course," he smiled.

Eva rolled onto the floor and rose like a zombie. "Guess I'll go see Jordan then."

She didn't want to rest in the room alone and the pool on the roof of this ridiculously large building was certainly intriguing...

"Rick! How's your room?" she asked when they met in the hallway.

"Pretty nice," he nodded approvingly with his signature casual understatements. "Clark settled easy. Door's a bit sticky though."

"Always find a problem with something..." Don muttered.

Rick had to pause a moment at the comment. " _You_  are saying this to me? Seriously?"

"Hmm."

Eva looked between them both. Something was going on but it wasn't clear exactly what. Her dad had lapsed back into old habits and begun being snippy again and it seemed both her and Rick were clueless as to what had caused it. She supposed stress of the Championship?

"Hey, get a load of this," she thought she might change the subject to ease the tension. "Did you know I have to do  _homework_  while we're here?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, of course," Rick replied.

"What!? You already knew? This whole trip's been a conspiracy!" she drooped at the waist. "Ugh, which room is Jordan's? I'm gonna sleep in the pool."

Rick gave her the room number then turned to Don. "You're going to the track already, right? A five minute break might do you some good, y'know," he echoed Eva's thoughts.

"There's work to be done."

"Then I'll come too otherwise you'll work yourself into an early grave."

"You're not my guardian," Don said sourly. "But you can come if you wish."

Rick shrugged in Eva's direction who was just as lost regarding her dad's mood, then Rick hurried off to catch up with the man who had already walked off.

* * *

A few days after their arrival the Earth Grand Prix officially began. The opening ceremony drew a huge crowd including many alien races as two hosts stood on a stage recounting some star-racing history. The President of the Race Association, Arnaldo Sr., gave a short speech and then the pilots arrived by train, each in their own special carriage. They signed autographs from fans on the way to the stage where they joined their teams and gave interviews. It wasn't an overly fancy ceremony and with a burst of confetti it was all over.

"Thanks to all who're tuned in around the world and we'll see you trackside!"

The hosts closed the ceremony and all the pilots and officials returned to their hangers to prepare for the imminent race.

"Ah! Monsieur Thunderbolt!" a woman held out her hand to greet Rick.

"You must be Naomi Roux," Rick shook the woman's hand. "Good to meet ya. Call me Rick."

"And you must call me Naomi," the woman smiled.

The new pilot for Wei Race was a young French woman with a close-cut, red dyed haircut. She was fresh out of the Junior League and ready to prove herself. Eva had told Rick all about her but this was the first time both pilots were meeting.

"I must say you have been a huge inspiration to me, Rick. It's an honour to meet you. I will work my hardest to live up to your record here."

"You're gonna make me blush sayin' things like that," Rick smirked. "Don't work too hard that you burnout early. Don's gonna push you hard so you've gotta take care. Don't be worried to talk back, he's all bark."

"Yes, it has been tough already! I'll take your advice seriously."

Both pilots laughed.

It was thought that Japan had won the bid because of the Meiro track; an infamously difficult maze-like track with many overlapping corners between laps that caused many accidents. It was certainly a track that threw Naomi into the deep end.

Eva sat in the control room with Don, Rick, Dee, Xander and Gabin so it was pretty crowded. Neither her nor Rick had an earpiece so they were merely observers, and Gabin was twittering on about the new engine ceaselessly (Eva was pretty sure her dad had disconnected him so he wouldn't annoy Naomi) so he would be of little help either.

A ball of excited energy coiled in Eva's stomach as she sat there, relishing being this deep in legitimate star-racing again. She wanted to be more involved. Rick put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down when her fidgeting became apparent.

"Good luck!" Eva shouted from the back of the room, hoping Naomi could hear her.

The race began and Dee and Xander rattled off the Shrike's diagnostics constantly so Naomi could regulate her piloting appropriately. Unlike the Great Race, the circuits on Earth where much narrower and there were many more star-racers on the track at once so they all bunched up on the corners.

"I can't get by, we both take corners wide!" Naomi called with frustration as she failed to pass the lead racer again. "Grrr, this guy is quite annoying!"

"Calm down and keep up the pressure," Don replied over the comm. "Lorenzo will crack if you keep on him; he always does!"

The Italian pilot, though a record holder, was infamous for his lack of nerve and tendency to flame out under pressure. Naomi couldn't pass him on the corners so she stayed on his tail, shadowing him very closely until the inevitable happened and the lead star-racer, while trying to block her, flew off the track and crashed into the guardrail to gasps and cheers from the audience.

Naomi gave the control room a thumbs up and went on to win the opening race with little more competition.

Eva jumped up and a huge cheer went up in the pit when Naomi crossed the finish line in first place. Rick nodded in satisfaction that his successor seemed to be very talented.

"We did it!" Dee and Xander high-fived.

"Naomi, you were awesome!" Xander cheered.

"Lorenzo really beefed it," Dee said. "Stalled out under the pressure and that other engine failure, what was that? Renault having a bad season already and it's only the first race."

"That French quality," Don commented sarcastically then stopped. "Don't tell Naomi I said that."

He had ignored Rick the entire time.

* * *

A week into the championship, it was their first free day from the Grand Prix. Until now they had pretty much been confined to travelling between the hotel and the track but now they could finally explore some of the local Tokyo area. Naomi was holding first position in both points and lap time, but the mechanics were having trouble sourcing replacement parts for the new chromatic engine due to their pilot's insistence on running it raw. Eva had hoped that they could all go out together but Rick and her dad were still in the midst of their mystery argument, so thankfully Stan and Koji had reached out with an invitation instead.

Eva had to go and inform an adult she was leaving with them, so she went to find her dad, but as she left via the pool she found Rick instead. He was lying on a sun bed by the sparkling water out in the open sun. Even on the roof of the triple-digit high skyscraper hotel it was warm due to the high-tech glass barrier.

"Rick, me and Jordan are going into town with Stan and Koji," she told him but didn't get a response.

Evidently he was sleeping. Shirtless and in broad daylight, with his shades on.

"You're gonna get a weird sunburn if you sleep like that," she pointed out, but nothing. "Rick! Hey, Rick! No? Nothing? Welp, okay, don't say I didn't warn you."

A bowl of fruit on the nearby table caught her eye and a wicked grin spread across her face. Grabbing a few pieces she placed two oranges and a banana arranged as a smiley face on his chest then ran off giggling.

Outside the hotel Jordan looked around with wonder. "Where should we go first?"

The group looked around, lost. The tall buildings, the busy streets, cars and people—visitors and locals—swarming the area and the overwhelming amount of foreign language on signs, in shops and on people's tongues… they all just stood outside their hotel looking like stereotypical, ignorant tourists.

Stan manoeuvred Koji to the front of the group. The young man suddenly looked rather nervous to be the centre of attention.

"Let's ask our tour guide," Stan grinned, clapping his hands on the other mechanic's shoulders with a friendly familiarity. "Please don't stress my boy out."

Koji breathed a sigh of relief. Being any kind of authority figure, no matter how minor, outside of a star-racer hanger made him incredibly uncomfortable, but Stan understood his limits. He adjusted his shirt self-consciously.

"Fair warning: I don't visit often anymore because we can't get off work so a lot's probably changed by now," Koji said. He was Japanese-American and the only one of them that could speak the language. "I also lived in, well, it was pretty backwater you might say."

"Full of old folks," Stan commented. He mimed an old person clinging to a steering wheel and peering around blearily. "Imagine a town full of old geezer drivers."

With a fond chuckle Koji continued. "So I'm not good with busy places either..."

"You're doing great," Stan encouraged his friend and Koji smiled gratefully.

"Okay then!" Koji started as some confidence came to him. "Let's get something to eat first."

"You can't get time off work?" Eva asked as Koji led the group off to somewhere. "Is Miguel a slave driver too?"

"Oh, no, nothing of the sort," Koji replied and Stan scoffed with amusement. "Quite the opposite actually. If we weren't around nothing would ever get done! So I feel like we have to be there all the time."

"We're in a trap of our own making," Stan laughed. But they wouldn't have it any other way.

They found a quaint restaurant off the main tourist area and ordered their food. The locals would pretty much only speak to Koji so Eva didn't have to struggle with her tourist-level language book. Their food arrived swiftly; both her and Jordan had ordered the tonkatsu with extra sauce.

After spending a good few minutes laughing at Jordan's struggles with using chopsticks she felt like she had to stop him when he resorted to stabbing the pork cutlet with one of the chopsticks.

"Stop! Stop, stop," she giggled madly. Stan and Koji's laughter was muffled by their eating. "Here, I'll show you how to use 'em."

She arranged her own chopsticks in her fingers and showed him, but Jordan just pulled a dumb face of confusion so she sighed. She took his hand (not noticing the twitch that went through the boy's body) and arranged the utensils in the proper way for him, hoping that she'd done it correctly too. Don had only taught her how to use them a few months ago because they had Chinese food so often, and Chinese chopsticks were sometimes slightly different from Japanese.

Jordan made a mewling noise as he concentrated on picking up the pork and they all erupted into a cheer when he successfully got it into his mouth.

"I did ih! Th'mks, E!" he murmured around a mouthful of food.

Eva paused. "W-what did you just call me?"

"It's a nickname," Jordan said after he struggled to swallow too much food. "It's cute, don'tcha think?"

"C-cute…? Uuuuh," she felt her face heat up and she couldn't blame it on the food since it wasn't spicy. From  _Molly_  to  _Eva_  to  _E_ , Jordan had accepted her wholeheartedly. Eva busied herself eating too obviously fast. "Mmm, it's cute. Thanks..."

Stan and Koji shared a knowing look.

The next place they visited was out of the city, but riding the train they got there quicker than they'd have ever got anywhere in Tokyo on foot. It was a beautiful natural wonder; a large lake and ancient rock formations surrounded by a copse of cultivated young trees and colourful flowers.

"Really?" Neither Stan nor Jordan looked enthused with the planned activity.

It was a tacky, plastic pedal boat in the shape of a white swan. Koji looked uneasy with their lack of enthusiasm.

"I think it's cute," Eva came to Koji's defence. She went to stand near him to make her point to his visible relief.

"No one's ever said you had good taste, E," Jordan said dismissively, folding his arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked sharply.

"You like pineapple on pizza," Jordan shuddered.

"What?" Eva gasped. "Pineapple is the best! At least I'm not boring and only ever have extra pepperoni!"

"Rude."

"And Sprite is better than 7Up!"

"What's it like to be  _so_  wrong?"

Eva and Jordan faced off against eachother, eyes narrowed suspiciously as the wind blew through their hair dramatically. Then they cracked up laughing.

"At least we can agree that sweet popcorn is the best, right, partner?" Jordan chuckled.

"Right, partner." They grasped hands, flexing their biceps and grinning.

But Stan had to ruin the moment. "Uh, no. Salted is the best. Right, Koji?" he elbowed his buddy.

Koji wrung his hands and adjusted his glasses. "I didn't want to say, but yeah. Salted is better."

"Not you guys too!" Eva cried. "Does Rick know about this? Did he do this to you? How much did he pay you to say that?"

"How about a challenge," Stan raised his head, chewing the pick in his mouth sinisterly. "A race to decide the popcorn superiority? Loser has to eat a whole bag of the opposing flavour."

A confident grin spread over Eva's face in response. Surely they knew they couldn't hope to beat her in a race? "You're on!"

She and Stan shook on it.

"Enjoy your handicap!" Stan chuckled and hopped into one of the plastic swans. "Koji! Get in!"

"Eva! What's the hold up? C'mon!" Jordan yelled from the other swan. "It's a race, c'mooon! They're already getting away!"

"I don't wanna eat that salted crap any more than you do!" Eva rushed over to the pedal boat and began peddling like mad.

"It's actually pretty alright, y'know," Jordan said quietly.

"I'll have none of that mutinous talk on my ship!" Eva grinned as they chased their friends across the lake. "Or you'll go overboard!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

It didn't go well for Team Sweet as Stan and Koji peddled off with little issue whereas the handicap known as Jordan's complete lack of motor skills had their boat crashing into the lakeside, rocks, turning in circles and bumping other peoples' boats. After numerous apologies they finally made it into the more private back stream.

"I can understand why your flying tutor works with small animals now," Eva said humorously.

"Sorryyy," Jordan all but whimpered like a scolded puppy and Eva laughed.

Having lost Stan and Koji some time ago, Eva and Jordan travelled along a beautiful stream in their tacky, plastic pedal boat under perfect blue skies. Beautiful trees were flowering and hanging over the route, sometimes so low that they would have to brush them aside as they passed under. They were alone, it was quiet, it was relaxing and it was comfortable.

It was almost like a… like a date.

Eva's face flamed uncontrollably. She took a noisy inhale of breath through her nose and started peddling faster.

"Whoa, Eva!" Jordan was surprised when the boat started veering off course. "Slow down, I can't keep up! What's the hurry? Relax!"

She couldn't think of an excuse for her abrupt change of behaviour. Jordan suddenly felt so close, like she couldn't get away from him. All the thoughts of those brief touches of their arms or their legs rushed into her head making her feel dizzy. She had to think of an excuse to get back to land. Anything!

"We gotta catch up to Stan and Koji!"

"I think they're long gone by now, E."

Damnit! "I've got allergies!" she faked a dramatic sniffle.

Jordan looked around them at all the flowers and trees then observed her face closely. "You do look a bit red… okay! Let's boat!"

The pedals suddenly knocked her feet off as Jordan began peddling madly with conviction. Though her face remained red, he didn't seem to question that she hadn't sneezed or sniffled for the remaining journey back to the dock.

When they returned to the smuggest looking pair of mechanics on the planet already waiting with a bag of the offending popcorn, Eva and Jordan sulked over to them and Eva choked down as much of the salted nastiness she could bear and Jordan willingly finished the rest. By then it was getting dark as they travelled back to Tokyo.

"How about one last attraction before we call it a day?" Stan suggested.

The sly grin that passed between the pair of friends didn't escape Eva. "You can't come to Japan without trying some sake," Koji said.

"Uh," Jordan's eyes darted to Eva and back. "Aren't we underage?"

"There's no adults around, c'mon, lighten up. Have some fun!" Stan wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're adults," Jordan pointed out.

"I mean responsible adults."

"I'm up for it," Eva announced causing Jordan to do a double-take.

"Whaaaa—Eva!? We could get in serious trouble!"

"Don't be such a wet blanket, Jordan," Eva rolled her eyes and Stan and Koji chuckled. She'd never tried alcohol before and Don didn't drink so there was never any in the house either. "Lead the way, Koji!"

Stan and Koji cheered and they left Jordan spluttering and protesting by himself.

"I was just looking out for you! Okay! Well! Let it be known that I was the most adult one here today!" Jordan cried after them. "Man, fuck peer pressure. Guuuuuys! Wait for me!"

It was properly dark when they found an appropriate place; a small place down a side street that wouldn't ask too many questions. They sat in a private booth. Stan and Koji both howled with laughter as Eva's face screwed up in disgust when she took her first sip of sake.

" _Blarghh-ghh-yughh!"_

Jordan raised both eyebrows as he sat with a glass of the same stuff. "Soooo, how is it?"

"It—it's—so— _strong_!" She tried taking another sip but immediately spat it back into the glass. "Blehhhh!"

Koji knocked back his glass and poured more. Eva gave him an incredulous look.

"Adults drink this for fun?  _How?_  It burns!"

"This is a mild blend," Stan told her but she refused to believe him. "Jordan?"

Eva's adverse reaction to it made him wary so Jordan sniffed it before putting his head back and draining the glass. " _Gahhh_ , bit stronger than the Coors Light we'd smuggle into the barracks."

"That's just upsetting to hear," Stan chuckled and refilled Jordan's drink.

They spent time drinking and ordering more food. Eva didn't want to be upstaged so she tried drinking more sake but couldn't handle it. Though she wouldn't admit defeat she ended up drinking straight juice for the rest of the night. Soon Stan, Koji and Jordan became quite jolly.

"Jordan! Stop leaning on me, you're too heavy," Eva laughed as Jordan drunkenly slouched all over her.

"I recognise that voice," an unwanted snide voice said from outside the booth.

When the voice revealed itself Eva threw her hands up with frustration. "Of course I can't get away from you even in a different country!"

"You know we're in the Grand Prix too, right?" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. deadpanned. He had some older kids with him so they were probably planning the same thing as Stan and Koji.

"Get outta our booth, kid," Stan slurred.

"No one wants you here, Arny," Eva concurred. "Out of  _all_  the shops here you somehow manage to come to this one? You really are like a bad rash that just won't go away."

Jordan leaned too close to the boy to get a good look at him. "Is this the kid ya punched, E?"

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. leaned away when he caught a whiff of Jordan's rank breath. "That incident was greatly exaggerated!"

"Fuckin' nerd," Jordan laughed.

Eva's group laughed and Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s face turned red with embarrassment and impotence. "You won't be laughing when I report you for underage drinking!" he threatened.

That sobered the group up somewhat.

"Don't do that, please," Koji said evenly despite the drunk blush to his cheeks. "You could get our teams disqualified if you report us."

"What!?" Eva gasped.

"I told youuuuu," Jordan sing-sang. "We could get in troubbbble."

"How the hell you always so eloquent like this, man?" Stan burped.

"I can't feel my hands," Koji replied.

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. raised his head to look down his slightly bent nose at Eva in particular. "It feels good to finally have you at my mercy. Whatever shall I do with you, I wonder? I think I'll just call my grandpa right now."

"You can't do that!" Eva shouted desperately.

"Hold him down, we'll make it look like an accident!" Jordan jumped to his feet with surprising competence, raising his fists.

"Jordan, no! He's not worth it!" Eva didn't want any more trouble with the smug little shit and definitely didn't want Wei Race actually disqualified this time. "Wow, I didn't know you were this kind of drunk..."

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. tensed as if expecting the hit but when nothing happened he regained his composure. He pointed his phone at them, "do me a favour and all get in frame so I have proof."

Koji and Stan posed together, throwing up peace signs for the camera.

"Guys, no!" Eva rolled her eyes and gave a frustrated sigh. "Oh, my god, do I have to do everything."

She jumped forward, grabbing Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s arm and wrestling him for control of the phone. The boy tried to fight back but it was a quickly losing battle.

"You'll never beat me!" Eva grunted. "I had to fight loads of kids at my old school!"

"She really is an animal!" the boy cried and struggled as Eva got the phone from him. "No! Guys! Get this on camera!"

But before Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s two older friends could react the owner of the establishment came over to them gesturing wildly and screaming in Japanese.

"Oh, no! We've got to go!" Koji got to his feet. "The police are coming!"

Stan reacted instantly. He slammed a wad of money down on the table, pushed Koji out of the booth and grabbed Eva by the back of her shirt, dragging her off the Arnaldo boy and out of the shop. Jordan hobbled out after them.

The boy followed them out laughing. "You're screwed now, Eva Wei! You're finally gonna get arrested and disqualified!"

"You're gonna get arrested too, dipshit," Stan said as they continued to run away. Eva was fairly certain he wouldn't talk like this to a kid if he weren't drunk, no matter how much everyone in the star-racing circuit hated the Arnaldos. "They're coming cos we were fighting!"

"H-huh?" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. panted as they came to a stop a distance away. His two buddies had already been apprehended by the shop owner.

"I've got this! Leave it to me, I'll save us!" Jordan announced heroically.

"Jordan, no!" Eva shouted, suspecting what he was about to do. "Not in front of this idiot!"

"Hey, look at that cute cat!" Jordan pointed behind the boy.

But Arnaldo Jr. Jr. didn't look. "I'm not falling for that."

Jordan, however, still acted as if the distraction had worked. He wrapped his arms around his friends and teleported the group away in a bright flash of light.

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. shielded his eyes then looked around in confusion. "What the hell?" he blinked.

They all reappeared in the deserted sub-basement car park of the hotel. Eva watched all the boys lose their balance,  _including_  Jordan, and fall over.

"Did we just leave Arny Jr.Jr. to deal with the police?" she muttered with concern.

"That kid's not gonna say anything," Stan reassured her. "He'll get himself kicked out with us too. Arnaldo Sr. only has so much power, he can't go against the police… hopefully."

"I feel like I've sobered up now," Koji said sadly.

"Yeah, same," Stan sighed "But..."

They all looked down at Jordan lying on the floor.

"Better get the Avatar back to his room."

"Jordan..." Eva sighed.

Stan and Koji were staying on a lower floor so they handed off Jordan to Eva. The boy wrapped his arms around Eva's shoulder for dear life as the rode the lift to their floor. The height difference between them was enough to make it awkward to walk. And when they'd shuffled down the hall, Eva realised she didn't have a key.

"Um, Jordan…?"

"Huuuuuh?" the boy made a strange sound.

Eva slapped both his cheeks and held his head steady to keep his attention. "Where's your room key?"

"Pocket," he said but didn't make a move to get it himself.

"Are you  _kidding_  me, Jordan?"

"Pocket," Jordan said again with a stupid, lopsided grin.

Eva checked the hall to make sure they were alone and began the search.

_'Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod,'_  Eva searched through Jordan's pockets with a flaming face. "I should just leave you out here..."

"That tickles, E," Jordan giggled.

"Don't make this weird!" Eva snapped. She found the key and dumped Jordan on the floor with a thud.

Unlocking the door she dragged him into the room by his foot. He was so heavy! She had little hope of getting him on the bed unless he could get to his feet which didn't seem like it would happen. So she took the pillows from the bed and arranged him properly on the floor.

"You smell, Eva..." Jordan muttered with heavy eyelids.

"That's not a nice—wait," she almost smacked him but paused and sniffed her arm. Oh, yeah, she smelt of alcohol. Pretty strongly even though she hadn't drunk barely any herself.

Oh, no.

She couldn't go back to her room smelling like this!

Dad would kill her.

"Jordan, I'm using your shower."

"… nice..."

She awkwardly went into his bathroom and shut the door securely. Then ten seconds later she came back out, dragged Jordan around to the far side of the bed farthest away from the bathroom and returned, locking the door and rattling it to be certain.

When she was done and redressed she peeked back into Jordan's room and found him passed out, snoring with a very unattractive expression on his face and drooling. Squatting by his side she smiled fondly down at him and patted his thigh.

"I had fun today. Don't choke on your tongue."

Now she had to sneak back to her own room without catching trouble. Opening the door slowly revealed the room to still be dark so Don probably wasn't back yet. The curtains in the joint sitting area were still open and the room was moderately lit from the moonlight.

"Phew, safe," Eva breathed.

"What was that?"

Eva squeaked and shut the door. Don was standing right behind it so she hadn't noticed him when it was open. It seemed like he was messing with the schedule board that was hung there.

"I'm back!" she blurted.

Don raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Koji messaged me. Did you have fun?"

Ah, even when drunk off their asses Stan and Koji were too good to her.

"So much fun!" she replied too enthusiastically and kissed him. "Boy, am I tired! I'll tell you about it tomorrow, goodnight!

"Goodnight..." Don replied suspiciously.

Running into her room and shutting the door too loudly Eva giggled to herself. Her first deception of her dad (that didn't involve pretending to be a different person)! She paused as a thought struck her.

"Oops, i've still got Arny's phone..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Eva has broken Jr. Jr.s nose, knocked him down and now accidentally robbed him *david mitchell voice* are we the baddies?
> 
> I had to cut some scenes out of here like Rick and Clark meeting some shibas because the length of this is absurd. Why am I like this? Originally the chapters of this fic were supposed to stay around 2,000 words. Pretty funny now, eh? LOL


	17. Earth Grand Prix Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE EARTH GRAND PRIX CONTINUES I HOPE YOU LIKE RICKDON BECAUSE I SURE DO

Another day, another race in Japan, and it would be a wet one. Eva, Jordan, Rick, Stan and Koji sat under the overhang of the Wei Race hanger sheltering from the rain and having lunch, watching race officials rush around trying not to get wet.

"When it rains, why don't sheep shrink?"

"What the hell, E?" Jordan shook his head fondly and continued eating.

"Watch out!" someone shouted.

The group turned around to see an unmanned trolley loaded with heavy equipment rolling their way which would surely clean them up. Rick got to his feet the fastest and stopped the runaway trolley, putting all his weight against it.

"Thanks, Rick," Eva and Koji breathed a sigh of relief.

The man smiled but then a tremor ran through him and he stumbled, falling to his knees and releasing the trolley. Jordan and Stan rushed to grab it before it could run him over.

"Rick! Are you alright?" Jordan cried.

He was clutching his arm, glaring at it with gritted teeth. Both his arms twitched uncontrollably and his knuckles turned white from the strength of which he was grasping them. His whole upper body was trembling as he growled with frustration. His friends all stood over him at a loss for what they could do to help. It wasn't something that happened too frequently but it wasn't unusual either.

Eventually it passed and Rick sighed. He looked up at the sky, some specks of rain landing on his sunglasses then gradually got to his feet.

"Damnit," he cursed under his breath.

"Are you okay?" Eva tried again. A pair or people came to collect the trolley.

With a frustrated grunt, Rick ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess. For now. Think I'm gonna go back to the hotel for a bit."

"Okay. If you need anything just call, okay?"

Rick gave a lazy wave over his shoulder. They watched him walk off towards the train, his gait somewhat wounded.

"He forgot Clark," Eva noticed. She picked up the dog, looking at its clueless face. "I hope he's really okay, he never leaves her."

Jordan smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure he's fine, we'll look after her until we go back to the hotel. He probably just needs to lie down or something."

They returned to the hanger. The runaway trolley all made sense now as It seemed preparations for the next race were almost complete and the team in the pit were all messing around. Although some team members did eye Stan and Koji with suspicion, the pair had already completed their duties with their own team and their unofficial truce with Eva allowed them entry.

Some of the mechanics were having fun; a group crowded around one guy sat on an old tyre from the Shrike's landing gear as another pumped it full of air. The tyre reached its breaking point and burst with a deafening bang sending the person sat on it into the air. The guy flipped around no less than three times and his shoes flew off causing the group watching to burst into laughter, including Eva and Jordan.

But the loud noise scared Clark who started barking.

As people helped the dizzy victim to his feet, everyone was howling with laughter, Clark was barking and the tyre had discharged air so forcefully it had bounced into the air itself and landed with a clatter in some used cannisters making even more noise.

And Clark kept barking.

The door to Don's office slammed open and he came out looking beyond annoyed and everyone instantly regretted their brief moment of happiness.

"What is that infernal racket!?" he looked around at the mess and could guess what had happened.

"Sorry, boss," the man who had been thrown wobbled. "Just a bit of fun, my fault..."

Don rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Someone could have been hurt! We don't need that kind of nonsense! Do you not have work to do!?"

"Preparations are almost finished," another guy timidly said. "We just need to—"

"Almost finished isn't finished! Stop messing around and get back to work!"

"Aye, boss!" the group scrambled back to their stations. No one wanted to lose their job in the middle of the Grand Prix in a foreign country.

_bark bark bark bark bark_

Don turned his attention to Eva and her group next. Jordan instinctively straightened up as if he were expecting to be chewed out by his old army sergeant. Eva thought her dad's shouting was further scaring the stressed little dog.

"And what is that mutt doing here!? Where's Rick? Of all the irresponsible—get it out!"

"Sir—" Jordan tried.

As workers tried to retrieve the tyre, it lost its precarious balance on the empty canisters and they all toppled like bowling pins, the crashing sound echoed repeatedly around the hanger, and Clark hadn't stopped barking the entire time. Don grabbed the dog from Eva.

" _GET OUT!"_  he shouted, apparently having reached the end of his rope.

The force and volume of the order caused everyone to instinctively obey and they all took off scurrying out of the hanger. Eva had never heard her father shout like that since, well, ever. Not even on Oban did he get so angry. Something was wrong.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Stan's surprised mantra interrupted her thought process as they stopped to catch their breath. "Shouting at the Avatar, who does that?"

"Stan, don't..." Eva said.

She knew Jordan disliked it when people treated him differently. He tried to live this life as naturally as possible when on Earth and had never misused his power for self-gain or entertainment or anything else of an irresponsible manner, drunken misadventures notwithstanding.

"Hey man, he's still scary as hell sometimes," Jordan tried to joke, but Eva could tell the comment had affected him. "I'm only so powerful."

"Can we watch the race from your pit this time?" Eva asked the pair of mechanics.

"Yeah, no problem," Koji nodded sympathetically. He jumped when Don suddenly burst out into the yard, stomping towards the train with Clark wriggling under his arm.

"Is he seriously going back to the hotel just to shout at Rick?" Stan rolled the pick between his teeth.

"Never doubt Dad's pettiness," Eva sighed. "He's been acting really weird with Rick for a while."

* * *

His prescription always made him feel sleepy, Rick bemoaned the mediocrity of human medicine as he lay on the bed. What was the point of human colonisation across the galaxy if they couldn't bring back some alien pain killers that didn't make a person sleepy? Clenching and unclenching his hands and wriggling his fingers, his arms hurt from the muscle spasms he couldn't control, but more than anything it was just frustrating. Right now he only wanted to nap it off.

The door to his room suddenly burst open, hitting the wall and bouncing back closed with a bang. It startled him but he couldn't get himself to move from the bed. Don stood over him with Clark whining pitifully under his arm. They were both soaking wet and thunder thematically crashed outside. It was pretty amusing.

"You better put her in the bathroom unless you like smelling like wet dog. Can't say it's my choice of cologne," Rick said, undaunted by the man's angry expression.

Instead Don held the dog out to Rick, not quite shaking her but moving her around with agitated motions as he spoke. "Keep this mutt out of my hanger from now on!"

"Uh, I guess I did forget her, sorry. Figured Jordan and Eva could handle her, I just—"

"I don't care what you thought! Its your responsibility so keep it out of my way!" Don dropped Clark on the floor who landed badly and whimpered. The dog ran under the bed to hide.

"Hey! Don't do that! She's not a cat!" Rick shouted with distress for his pet. "Can't you tell the difference between a cat and a dog!?"

"A cat might actually be useful!"

"Why're you so worked up lately?" Rick asked with annoyance colouring his tone. Don liked the dog now so his actual issue clearly wasn't with Clark. "She's been in the pit a bunch of times already."

"And I should've put a stop to that the first time it happened! From now on, keep it  _off_  the premises!"

Before Rick could retort the lights in the room suddenly flashed and then went off leaving everything in darkness. A power cut. The only source of light now was from the periodic lightning flashes outside the window.

"Oh! Perfect!" Don growled. "The train better still be working. Don't bother coming back to the hanger today!"

Rick sighed through his nose noisily as Don stomped back to the door having said his piece and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Don tried it a few more times before stopping and just looking at it.

"If you're gonna leave, then  _leave_ ," Rick was tired and his generous patience was being tested.

"The door. Is stuck," Don replied dangerously.

Pulling his heavy limbs up Rick dragged himself over to the door, pushing Don out of the way and tried the handle himself. The entire door rattled in the frame but couldn't open. He put his face in his free hand with a deep sigh and returned to the bed without saying a word.

His failure confirmed their fears that they were stuck and Don lost it, banging on the door and shouting for anyone in the hall, but most of the people around were with the Race Association and where all likely already at the Meiro track. It was a futile effort and it lasted for longer than was comfortable.

" _Don_ , stop yelling! My ears are ringing," Rick complained.

Don's movements were sudden and jerky when he turned to Rick. "Did you do this on purpose!?" he accused.

"Why the hell would I lock you in here with me!?" Rick shouted back. "You probably did it when you kicked the door in."

" _Grrrgghhh_ ," Don growled and resumed banging and yelling again.

Rick flopped back on the bed with an aggravated and defeated sigh. He took his sunglasses off to rub his eyes, "especially when you're like this..."

Eventually—thankfully for Rick's ears—Don gave up but instead of settling down he started pacing in a circuit around the room. Rick couldn't decide which was more annoying but either way he couldn't sleep.

Since before they'd arrived in Japan Don had been acting strange with him. Rick had noticed it was only him that Don suddenly had a problem with and he hadn't the slightest idea what had triggered it. Nothing unusual had happened between them. Maybe he thought he was spending too much time at the Wei house and Don was growing tired of him—but no, Don had no problem speaking his mind if he didn't like something.

The mystery was upsetting Eva as well, he could see that plainly. But he couldn't fix what he didn't know. His eyes followed Don, who looked tense and tired as he mindlessly paced.

Finally fed up he snapped. "Will you  _stop_  pacing and tell me what's  _wrong_? I'm gettin' dizzy watchin' you."

Don stopped and looked at him for a long while as if he were running through a scenario in his head. In defeat he sat on the edge of the chair in the corner of the room, just barely balancing with his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. Rick peered at him over his chest from the bed.

"I have feelings for you," Don confessed with a tired voice. "I'm sorry."

His mind blanked momentarily.

There it was. A confession he had been waiting three years for but never actually believed would happen. At least Maya had, had the sense to fall in love when Don had been a much happier person (apparently), but Rick had no such excuse. He just had strange taste.

Rick was openly pansexual and yet he was surprised Don was bi. Actually he was surprised Don was  _anything_. He had just assumed the man was a sexless human created in a lab and then released into society as a practical joke—before Eva had made herself known, at least. That situation had been a mess from day one but it had served to humanise Don somewhat.

"It's no problem, I like you too," Rick admitted casually.

"Wh—" both the surprise and confusion was obvious on his face when Don lifted his head.

"Even though you've been a total bastard this whole time," Rick had to add.

Don shamefully dropped his face into his hands again. He shook his head and muttered something unintelligible that Rick couldn't quite hear, but could understand it to be self-flagellation.

There was absolutely no planning for this. Anything could happen now.

"Come sit with me and we'll talk about it," Rick patted the other side of the double bed when Don raised his head. "But first take your jacket off—you've tracked enough water around already."

Acting subdued now, Don took his jacket and gloves off and folded them neatly as a delay tactic. When he was on the bed Rick rolled over on to his side, casually supporting his own head with his hand, to look at him.

Don's body language was very rigid and he still looked uncomfortable on the soft, luxury bed. He had his arms folded tightly over his chest and was steadfastly staring at the ceiling, refusing to make any eye contact.

It was clear that Don wanted something to happen otherwise he wouldn't have come over. He was the particular type of stubborn who would rather pass out on the floor to spite everyone and himself than face an awkward situation head-on. It was very fortunate that Rick was a nearly bottomless well of patience.

"You don't look very comfy," he observed.

"It's fine," Don replied curtly.

Eyes closing behind his sunglasses, Rick sighed. "If you wind yourself up any tighter you're gonna snap and it ain't gonna be pretty."

"It's fine," Don repeated through gritted teeth.

Giving up on the small talk, Rick rolled over onto his back again and traced the same ugly patterns on the ceiling as Don was doing. Apparently neither of them knew what to say or do now. It was almost juvenile and the thought caused him to laugh a little.

"What's funny?" Don asked without looking at him.

"I dunno," Rick gestured at nothing, "this."

"It's not funny. I feel—"

Ah, an opening. Rick inclined his head, "you feel?"

"I feel wrong," it was said bluntly. "I've spent ten years running from life and I spent five of those years doing that with you. I feel like I've used you to shield myself from my personal problems."

So Don thought it was a rebound. A ten year rebound was impressive and he didn't believe that but he kept his mouth shut.

"Ever since Maya's death I've been pushing people away, but you keep coming back. Even after I deliberately tossed you aside you still came back when I asked—I'm beginning to worry there's something wrong with your head."

Rick laughed softly.

"When you left Alwas I assumed that was the end and you were gone forever—and when Eva wanted to contact you I was sceptical. But you still came back, for the second time. You keep coming back. Why? I've done nothing to deserve this happiness with Eva, and I've done nothing to deserve your continued presence in my life."

Despite himself, Rick felt a sense of satisfaction that his old boss needed him however in a different capacity. Their dynamic had always been somewhat lopsided and not in Rick's favour. Don went on...

"I'm honestly perplexed as to why you're still here after how I've treated you, but I am glad that you've stayed. You're a good man, but I think you're too soft sometimes and I don't want to cause more damage than I already have."

Very noble, Rick thought. Don's sense of self-importance was infuriating sometimes, like he thought Rick had no personal autonomy to get away from a harmful person.

"I realised I had feelings for you and I have been acting childish about it. I don't want you to leave and I don't want to push you away anymore but I'm a weak and selfish man. I don't know if I can ever fully move passed Maya but I... I want you to stay with me."

A long break.

"That's… how I feel."

Don spoke all this with a steady, clear voice but whilst still folded in on himself and staring at the ceiling, looking openly vulnerable. It was more than a little unnerving that he could detach his voice from his actions in such a manner, but who was Rick to judge how people worked through their feelings. His own brand of casual aloofness probably wasn't the best way of dealing with it either—it was probably kind of infuriating now that he thought back on it. That explained a lot of past experiences actually, huh...

Rick took his sunglasses off and rubbed his eyes. He understood now. Don had caught some emotions and couldn't handle them, so he'd reverted to the old self that Rick was familiar with and tried to push Rick away. That wasn't going to work this time.

He'd seen Don at his lowest point—at their very first meeting—despite the man hiding his entire fucking life from him for five years, so he knew Don went in on relationships hard.

That was so unlike Rick though. His love life was a revolving door of different partners. Every few months he'd had a new person hanging on his arm and had been unable (or unwilling?) to hold down a proper relationship with anyone. That was before Oban though. Now things were different.

"I'm happy you finally see more in me than a tool for you to reach the top," he said.

"That's not—there's more—"

"Let me speak."

With a barely noticeable wince, Don obeyed. Rick took a moment to properly gather his thoughts.

"After I left Alwas I had intended to leave for good, you're right. After all I couldn't race so you had no use for me anymore. But back then you showed some humility," when he said this Don eyed him carefully, "so I wouldn't say you've done  _nothing_. I can see you've been trying."

He sighed.

"But to be honest, even if you weren't trying I'd still like you anyway. Our connection," whatever it actually was, "is the longest relationship I've managed to maintain in my life. Despite the bumps along the way."

Kinda pathetic when he said it out loud like that. His longest non-familial relationship was with a hobo who had plucked him out of the desert and transformed his pointless life. And that was it really…

"You've done a lot in my life," Rick admitted honestly. "If we hadn't met I'd probably still be a worthless punk street racing in the gang and disappointing my ma. Some of the times with you have been the most exciting in my life. But, hey, you've seen my love life these past five years..."

And he didn't want to call it 'commitment issues' but it really wasn't anything else. He had a problem connecting to people on more than a superficial level. But him and Don had experienced their the lows together and still managed to keep contact, and he had even managed a connection with Eva when she still went by Molly. If he were the type or person he'd almost think that some kind of fate.

"You're a difficult person and I'm a fool; I'm on this rollercoaster of ours until the end. I'm not good with serious relationships but... I want to try with you."

He braced himself for the snort of disbelief or the derisive laughs but nothing came.

"Hey, Don, you ignoring me? That's not gonna work when we're both trapped in here."

When he still didn't get a response he looked over. It seemed like Don had exhausted himself and fallen asleep. Typical. He wondered how much the man had actually heard but simply smiled and took Don's hand to hold, and finally let his meds lull him to sleep too. Maybe this had just been a new act in his recurring dream.

Sometime later Rick woke up. The room was still dark but the storm outside was beginning to calm, and he was still holding Don's hand.

"It wasn't a dream..."

"What kind of awkward dreams do you have?" Don asked from beside him.

"You're awake?" Rick turned his head. "Ones about you."

"That's..." Don didn't know how to respond. He coughed. "Well, I must admit you have also been on my mind a lot… obviously..."

"Yeah?" he grinned.

As he always said; it took proper rest to make decisions with a clear mind. He wanted to try something serious for the first time in his life, and he wanted to try it with Don.

"We're doing this then?" Rick asked.

Don turned to him, looking at him as if searching for something, like this entire thing had been a charade and Rick would pull the rug out from under him at any moment. Rick hoped his eyes reflected how serious he was.

It must have worked as Don relented. "Yes."

Suddenly Rick felt like a little kid again when he'd had his first crush on a girl and neither of them had known what to do; just stood there awkwardly holding hands until their parents came to pick them up. He couldn't control the out-of-character insecurity that had spontaneously overcome him so he joked;

"Are you always bad at doing this?"

"Yes," Don replied again, honestly, and Rick chuckled. Don then noticed the pill box on the bedside table and his expression changed to guilt upon realisation. "I… are you tired? I'm sorry, I didn't notice until now. Did you have an episode?"

"I'm fine now," he said but Don didn't look convinced. Their conversation had been emotionally draining on top of his meds, but the nap had done wonders. It was comfortable to sleep near someone again, but he had to say something to stop Don internalising some guilt. "I'll forgive you if you get me some water."

Don nodded and tried to take back his hand but Rick was much stronger.

"Release my hand," Don said firmly. "I can't help like this."

It was contrary to what he'd just asked for but Rick just smiled. "No, I like it. I think it's nice," he squeezed to prove his point.

Don visibly struggled with some emotion before his free hand grabbed the front of Rick's shirt and pulled him down for a kiss.

Rick was so surprised he dropped Don's hand.

* * *

Sometime later after Don had been forced to apologise to Clark, the power to the hotel came back on. They immediately used the phone to call for help and sat on the bed to caught the conclusion of the race on TV. Thankfully everything seemed to have proceeded smoothly, not that, that could calm Don down and Rick couldn't help himself from commenting on it.

"Hey, stop stressing over it so much or you'll go grey faster."

"When I find that first grey hair on your head I'm never going to let you live it down!"

"That's not gonna happen."

"And why not?"

"'cos I plan to go bald first."

Don gave up for the second time that day.

Just at that moment the door rattled on its hinges as if someone were trying to enter, startling them.

"I am opening the door, I hope you boys are decent!" a voice warned from the hallway.

Don sprung to his feet when the jammed door unlocked to reveal an elderly janitor jangling a set of keys. He wasted no time pushing passed the old man and out into the hall.

"What does that mean exactly? Did you not hear me shouting earlier!?" he then shouted.

The old guy winced and stuck a finger in his ear at the volume.

"Eeeeh, yeah," the janitor began with a wobbly yet jovial voice. "I have heard this type of roleplay before, we get a lot of it from you business types this time of year. I have learnt my lesson well not to interrupt," he tapped his head for emphasis.

"W-w-w-w-w—!?"

Rick had never seen Don's face get so red before as he choked on his own rage and embarrassment—it even reached to the tips of his ears. Don took a few unsteady steps back, for once in his life at a loss for words, then spun around and power-walked down the hall, making a swift escape.

"Did I say something wrong? My English is not so good."

"It's cool, don't worry about it," Rick gave the janitor a friendly smile. "Though, uh, maybe take a look at that lock, yeah? Please."

He certainly didn't want to get locked in his own room again, no matter how productive the adventure had turned out.

* * *

Rick and her dad returned after the race and Don demanded a full report on what had happened in their absence. He praised the team with one of his classic half-insult-half-compliments about how grateful he was that he didn't hire imbeciles who couldn't function without proper supervision. Naomi and him went into the office to discuss the race and future tactics.

It was strange. Eva had thought that missing the race would have only made her dad even angrier and she had kinda not wanted to even return to the hanger, but her and Jordan had been kicked out of Miguel's hanger at the conclusion of the race so they'd had little choice. But Don actually seemed to be in a good mood now.

She communicated this confusion through her facial expression to Rick who simply gave her a thumbs-up and didn't further elaborate. Well, him and her dad were good friends and Rick was good at calming him—everyone actually—down, so… whatever, she shrugged.

"I'm glad you're okay now," she told him genuinely.

Rick smiled to her warmly and patted her head. "Thanks, little mouse. Yep, everything is great."

After that day it was as if a cloud of tension over the group had dissipated and Eva felt much more comfortable. Everyone was getting along again and she finally felt like she could enjoy the vacation, and she thought that maybe now her dad was in a good mood that he might loosen up on her studying issue, so she tagged Rick in as an assist, but…

" _Don't you think you push Eva a bit too hard with school?"_

" _She needs a push—after she told me about that homework burglar I can't believe I fell for that..."_

" _This is a vacation."_

" _It's work."_

" _Welp, I tried," Rick shrugs and both he and Don wave in her direction. She jerks back around the wall so they can't see her. "See ya, little mouse!"_

" _That was a lousy effort!" she shouts from her hiding spot._

Not much success. She finally accepted her fate and really, her tutor was a nice lady and she was still doing much less school work than she would've been at home, plus she had Jordan and Rick to help in secrecy—Don couldn't get angry about what he didn't know. Rick was very good at geography and Jordan had a decent knowledge of history, and when her dad helped with maths that just left writing as her sole weakness. And she solved that issue by not worrying about it and playing in the pool with Jordan most nights.

One of those nights as she passed by her dad's room she heard talking.

"So I heard someone gave you a new 'tattoo'? Show me."

She could hear Rick sigh and then fabric rustling as he presumably removed his shirt, and Don instantly started laughing.

"It's not that funny," the pout in Rick's voice was unmistakable, which only seemed to make her dad laugh harder. "I'm gonna strangle whoever did this," Rick growled.

Eva knew Rick took great pride in his body and appearance but yikes.

That was her cue to scram.

There was a little under three weeks left in Japan for the Earth Grand Prix. This time she spent with her family and friends was probably the happiest she could remember being in her life. The entire Earth Team was back together when her dad, Stan and Koji had some leisure time away from the races and when she wasn't spending time with her online tutor. She envied Jordan and Rick for their total freedom on the trip—Rick was working up an impressive tan (despite the fruit-related mishap) and Jordan was turning into a prune from spending so much time in the pool.

They did a lot of typical tourist stuff; Stan and Koji got tipsy at the sake vendors and rocked karaoke, Rick tried a traditional tea ceremony, and Eva definitely didn't expect Jordan and her dad to bond over a mutual addiction to capsule machines. Not to mention all the beautiful sightseeing and delicious food they experienced as Koji recommended they try some of the more authentic alley restaurants rather than stick to only the fancy establishments. She spent all her vacation allowance on mascot stuffed toys and bizarre manga, and narrowly lost a 'monster ramen' eating contest.

Later in the day they were feeding catfish swimming against the current at a weir.

"Five people have drowned here," Koji informed them.

"Eva! Don't get so close to the edge!" Don yelled worriedly.

"Okay, really fun factoid, buddy. Thanks," Stan shook his head.

"What?" Koji shrugged helplessly. "It's an interesting local fact. They call this weir the 'drowning machine' if you get caught in it, so it's haunted by all the poor souls who died. Do you believe in ghosts?"

"No!!" Jordan protested too quickly and too loudly to be convincing. Though after he and Eva had nearly drowned that one time on Alwas he didn't much like water anymore. "I don't like 'weirs' though."

"That's sensible," Don said. "If you get caught in one I heard it turns you into a 'weirwolf'."

Eva screamed.

Startled, everyone turned to see if she had fallen in the water, but she was fine. Instead she was pointing an accusatory finger at Don.

"That better not become a habit!" she said.

Don's first  _dad pun_.

"Like Rick's awful metaphors aren't bad enough!"

"Say what?" Rick pouted.

"They're pretty bad, dude," Jordan admitted.

"What was that one earlier?" Stan racked his brain. "Oh!  _'This food is as_ _spicy_ _as two summer squash left_ _out_ _in the desert'_. What does that even  _mean_??"

"Or when Clark and that shiba got in a fight you said  _'that dog is dumber than two snails in a handkerchief'_. I mean, what?" Jordan made a confused face.

"Also  _'shark pits_ _'_ ," Eva added.

Rick took the friendly ribbing well. He reached his arms out imploring to them. "Why is everyone ganging up on me and Don gets off scot-free with that terrible weir pun!?"

Everyone laughed.

The Grand Prix itself ate up a lot of time which was understandable—it was what they were there for after all, and she was in her element immersed in it all. Naomi had held pole position in all but two races when an accident between other star-racers had occurred and interfered. When Eva saw the French pilot racing it inspired her, but then when she saw the Shrike return to the hanger and all the mechanics swarmed it she wanted to join them. The experience did nothing to help her decide between either occupation.

Wei Race won the Grand Prix handily. The new engine in the Shrike became the talk of the event as many attributed the dominating win to it, and Naomi would be skyrocketed into industry fame as a World Champion in her first major league competition. Eva watched her dad and Naomi at the award ceremony and give interviews to the greedy journalists all vying for the best story.

A lot of good things happened in Japan.

The old Earth Team, Naomi and some close Wei Race members held a celebratory party in the hotel restaurant the following evening to the annoyance of the other teams who would be making preparations to leave quickly. Predictably enough Stan and Koji's team had finished in a middling rank as usual, but so long as they got to work on a star-racer they were happy with whatever outcome.

"To another Arnaldo loss!" Naomi toasted.

"Cheers!" the group chanted.

"You've already got her indoctrinated into this feud?" Rick shook his head.

"She's a natural," Don smirked. "If I recall, you were pretty invested too."

"Well yeah, he's a piece of shit," Rick said it so frankly that Eva laughed.

Their group was loud and noisy and merry into the night. Eva took many photos and made many memories and once the alcohol started spilling and peoples lips began loosening, she also learnt of much gossip from the star-racing circuit—things from the mechanics that neither Rick nor her dad knew. She couldn't wait to rub this victory in Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s face back home.

Eventually only her and Don were the sober ones.

Eva was putting cocktail sticks in Jordan's hair so that he looked like a porcupine as he laid passed out over the table. She took a picture of her progress for posterity.

"Donnn," Rick rumbled. "My heart's beating real fast."

"That's because you're not supposed to mix alcohol with your meds. For god's sake."

"Are you going to be okay?" Eva asked with concern as she continued to transform her friend into a porcupine. She felt like she was worrying about Rick a lot recently; he had really integrated himself into their lives nicely. To think that when he had first visited their house he was intending to leave forever…

"He'll be fine," Don answered instead. "He just needs to sober up somewhere quiet. Rick, come on, back to your room!"

"Maybe we'll get stuck again," Rick said oddly hopefully as he wobbled to his feet.

"I'll get you stuck in the bathroom if you hurl," Don threatened.

Rick just chuckled and then they were gone.

"The first casualty!" Jordan boomed, suddenly awake. "I outlasted Rick Thunderbolt—owww!"

Eva giggled when the boy brushed his hair and stabbed his hands with cocktail sticks. He shook his head like a dog to get them loose.

"You were the first one out, idiot," she smirked at his drunkenly shocked expression. "You've been asleep most of the night! Koji said you're the worst lightweight he's ever seen."

"Whaaaa?" Jordan pouted and collapsed on the table. "Man, I'm a lousy date."

Eva paused. "Jordan, this isn't a date. It's a party, do you know where we are?"

Apparently he didn't as he continued with his delusion. Jordan grabbed her hands in his and looked at her. "Let me make this up to you! I'm so sorry!"

"This i-isn't a date..." she stuttered.

The drunk moron. What world did he think he was living in?

"Give me another chance! I can do better!" his eyes turned big and begging for forgiveness of a situation that wasn't even occurring.

"It's not—geeze, you're persistent! Fine, whatever! Make it up to me when we're home, just stop saying stupid things and go back to sleep so I can put more stuff in your hair."

"You're the best, E! I'll def make our next date better!" Jordan winked.

When they were back home, would Jordan really take her on a date? Her face reddened. He would almost certainly forget this whole dumb conversation by the morning. Eva watched him beg for more drink from Stan and Koji but they bluntly cut him off. Eh, he'd probably forget it in five minutes. Probably forgot it already.

She couldn't decide if she wanted him to remember it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, it happened! Long two-parter, huh? It would've been nice to post this as all one chapter but, haha, no. Thanks for suffering through my self-indulgent shipping crap!


	18. Rick's Mama

On one weekend Eva and Don decided to visit Rick at his home for a change, and Eva was always excited to check out his classic car collection again. Rick kept the main gate open these days and since the ex-pilot did it in their house so often, Don decided to just waltz right on in and Eva trailed along.

They found Rick sat at a table with a tiny, very old woman.

Don walked into the room, took one look at the woman, immediately made a U-turn and walked right back out of the room leaving Eva very confused in the doorway. Rick jumped up and managed to bring him back.

What followed was probably the most awkward moment of Eva's life, post-Oban. It was immediately clear the woman and her dad did  _not_  like eachother. Rick introduced her as his mother, Mrs Thunderbolt, and Eva politely introduced herself as well.

And it was immediately clear that Mrs Thunderbolt had a lot of fire in her.

"Not this again, please," Rick pleaded.

"You take my son away from his family to the big city and change his life!" the small woman jabbed her finger in Don's direction.

"You're speaking of him like he's a child! He was twenty-seven, he could make his own decisions!"

"He's sitting right here..." Rick muttered but went ignored.

"Look at these tattoos!" Mrs Thunderbolt grabbed Rick's arm to present the evidence of his corruption. "And he was such a good boy too!"

"Ma, please."

"And this poor girl—on her face even—it's hideous!"

" _Leave Eva out of this!_ " Don shouted with extra force.

"You're a horrible influence on everyone!"

The old woman cracked his leg with her walking stick.

"OW! You—" Don growled, rubbing the injured spot.

"Mama!" Rick confiscated the weapon.

"You old harpy, if you can't say anything constructive then keep your mouth shut!"

" _Don, do not call my mama a harpy!"_

Eva sat at the table watching things quickly spiral out of control.

"Uh! M-maybe we should all calm down! Have a drink before it gets cold," she took a deliberately noisy slurp from her glass, her eyes imploring them all to chill. They paused for a moment, staring eachother down, before sitting back down tensely, so she continued. "And also, um, Mrs Thunderbolt, my tattoos mean something; they have a lot of sentimentality to me, so..."

"Oh, dear, of course." This woman could switch lanes smoother than any pro pilot could as she shifted back into a kindly grandmother persona. "You two should be ashamed of your behaviour just now!"

Don growled under his breath in response and Rick just put his face in his hands.

"How did you manage to have such a sensible daughter?" she said to Don.

"It's a mystery," he replied sarcastically through gritted teeth.

They all managed to remain civil after that and moved into the sitting room. Mrs Thunderbolt criticised the star-racing memorabilia Rick had decorated around but it was nothing he hadn't already heard a thousand times before; Eva could tell from the way he placated her.

Well, they all moved into the room  _except_  for her dad and when Rick noticed the distinct lack of bickering he breathed a sigh of exasperation and excused himself, leaving Eva alone with the outspoken old woman.

They sat awkwardly together as the woman continued to criticise star-racing and anything and everything involved with it before Eva blurted; "do you want a drink!?"

Mrs Thunderbolt didn't even spare a breath in her rant as she said; "scotch," and continued on where she left off.

It wasn't like Eva was that comfortable in Rick's house that she would serve herself (let alone  _alcohol_ ) but honestly, she just wanted to get out of the room as well. As she went down the hall between rooms she heard Rick and her dad talking so she pushed herself up against the wall to eavesdrop—a terrible habit she wasn't even trying to break.

"I'm never coming here again, it's too dangerous."

"You're being very dramatic," Rick laughed quietly.

"I don't like that woman," Don put it bluntly. Though to be fair it was obvious so there would've been little point in pretending otherwise. And it didn't seem to upset Rick anyway when he spoke up.

"I know that all too well, and she doesn't like you either. But you'll have to get along now, won't you?"

Eva could imagine what face her dad was making in the silence that followed at being patronised.

"So make an effort, yeah?" Rick continued. "Maybe Eva will get a grandmama soon!"

Don groaned in misery.

In her early childhood Eva couldn't remember any grandparents ever visiting. In fact, she couldn't remember any other sort of family around at all when she was small. It had literally just been her, Maya and Don. She'd not really put too much thought into it before—only ever being concerned about reuniting with her father until now.

She also rolled her eyes at their terrible attempt at being discreet. When she heard them moving she dashed back into the room with Mrs Thunderbolt, trying to look natural.

"Where's my drink, dear?" the elderly woman demanded.

"Oh, crap!" Eva cursed as Rick and Don came into the room. They gave her a strange look. "I forgot. Does anyone else want a drink?"

"Heyyy," Rick interrupted. "You're my guests—I'll get the drinks. What d'you all want?"

Then Rick left her  _again_ , this time also with her dad which she wasn't actually sure was better, with Mrs Thunderbolt. Eva  _knew_  it didn't take this long to make drinks. She could just imagine the man taking a break at the table reading a magazine and enjoying overhearing their suffering.

Things remained relatively calm for the rest of the day with Don holding his tongue every time Mrs Thunderbolt made a snide comment, and Eva accepting the occasional back-handed compliment the woman sent her way with a decorum that surprised even herself. It was probably because Rick looked so desperate and apologetic about it but couldn't quite seem to bring himself to talk back to his own mother.

Eventually the old woman announced she would be turning in for the night and when she had left it was like a blanket of stress had been lifted from the room.

"You did great today," Rick teasingly said to Don, using the same tone as when he was training Clark.

"Don't patronise me!" the man snapped and flounced out of the room.

"Your mom's an… interesting person," Eva said after a moment and Rick chuckled.

"Appreciate the careful wording, little mouse," he turned his attention to her. "Yeah, she's a handful but I'd never trade her for anyone else."

It was amusing and adorable watching the tiny old woman who barely reached his waistline treat Rick like he was still a ten-year-old boy, though she doubted Rick thought it was cute.

"She sacrificed a lot for me and my sisters," Rick continued sombrely but didn't elaborate and Eva figured it best not to push for him to.

"You have a big family?" she asked instead.

Rick spread out on the sofa to get comfortable as if he knew this could go on for awhile. "Huge. I have six older sisters for a start."

He laughed heartily at the dumbfounded expression on her face as Eva couldn't work her brain to think up a reply, her mouth simply moving like a fish.

"I guess Ma just really wanted a boy, huh?" he said cooly. "Too bad I was a good-for-nothing punk."

"Rick, that's not true," Eva said even though she didn't have a full understanding of his past. All she knew was that he had been in a gang in the desert when he and her dad had first met. "So her and Dad don't really get on, huh?"

"Understatement," Rick chortled, titling his head and covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "When Don and Mama meet it's like two unmovable walls colliding."

Eva scrunched up her face in confusion. Another one of Rick's horrible metaphors.

"I said I was a worthless punk," Rick disregarded Eva's frown as he began, "but we're a close family. No matter how many times I got on the wrong side of the law we would band together. I caused my poor ol' ma so much stress and she'd tan my useless hide at the end of the day."

The mental image of the tiny, frail old woman reprimanding the towering beast that was Rick caused Eva to giggle and Rick smiled with amusement as well as he continued.

"It was tough living in almost poverty but we had eachother, even when I was in the slammer frequently. Our entire life we supported and provided for eachother—we didn't need anyone else. Then one day when I'm out with the gang I meet Don—"

Rick paused and glanced to the doorway.

"—and my life changes. All of a sudden I'm told that I'm actually good at something and the next thing I know I'm in the big city away from the family. Ma was  _livid_  when I called that day—thought I'd finally been done in by another gang or somethin'," Rick laughed softly at the memory. "Soon I'm famous and super rich and never have to worry about where the next meal is coming from, and I can support Ma and my sisters, but..."

He took a long drink.

"Ma never liked to leave home an' suddenly we've all moved on, out of town, leavin' her alone in that dust bowl in New Mexico, y'know? So she blames Don for fracturin' us all, but I know she's happy that we're all safe and living well, really..."

By the time he had finished recalling his young adulthood Rick looked distinctly melancholic sat by himself on the sofa—almost lost—and drinking his cold coffee. Eva noticed that throughout the entire story he had not once mentioned a father.

They all had familial upsets in their pasts.

Eva knew more about her mother now from the stories her dad has told, and from interviews and media appearances she'd searched the internet for. Don absolutely refused to watch any of the clips with her—the memories just too much—but Eva liked to watch them over and over and let her imagination run wild.

After a big win, in interviews, Maya would always praise and thank her team and her family. Sometimes even little Eva herself would be caught in a clip and she'd try to wrack her brain for that memory but she had simply been too young to remember.

She folded her legs up on the sofa and sipped her own drink, also long gone cold by now, lost in thoughts and memories. It was quite a comfortable moment.

"Don! I know you're listening! Come and join the heart-to-heart," Rick raised his voice knowingly.

Her dad must have been lurking close because he emerged from the darkness of the doorway fairly quickly. Eva thought that now Rick was pouring his heart out about his past then maybe her dad would be more open about it too.

That didn't seem likely to happen when he crossed his arms and sat down.

"I don't have family and Maya's family disowned her. It's as simple as that," even with Rick there it was more than clear that Don didn't want to talk about it. "They're assholes anyway, you wouldn't want to meet them."

Eva almost choked on her drink. Her dad hardly every swore (usually he was more creative with insults) let alone swear regarding people—not even at Rick's mom. So Maya's parents must have made a terrible impression. But she wouldn't deny she wanted to know everything; that was natural after all.

"You do naturally bring that out in people," Rick smirked.

Don grunted. "That may be true, but it wasn't me they treated badly—well, it was—but they treated Maya the worst.  _B_ _ecause_  of me."

Perhaps he was going to talk after all.

"Maya was from one of Earth's colony planets," Don started and Eva noticed he deliberately wasn't naming the planet in question. "Her family were very wealthy—practically owned the planet. I recall they had a lot of influence in Earth politics considering their valuable trade location."

Eva listened intently, putting all the information away so she could sort through it alone later. This was a lot to digest at once and if Don wasn't going to tell the whole story she'd have to take the clues and piece it together herself.

"Being  _that_  kind of family they treated Maya more as a possession and controlled every aspect of her life. Naturally she rebelled."

Hearing more and more about her mother helped Eva realised they were very similar; she'd inherited a lot of personality traits from both her parents, but being raised in a controlling environment had fostered a strong rebellious streak in both herself and her mother. Every day she felt closer to Maya.

"When your parents want you to go into politics and business, becoming a star-racer is as big of a rebellion as you can achieve, I suppose," Don eyed Eva who fiddled with her fingers innocently. "She went behind their backs participating in races on the planet—"

Again Eva noticed he didn't name it.

"—and that's how I found her. Now not only am I taking her back to Earth away from her family and home—"

Rick looked down into his drink.

"—it's validating her open rebellion against her parents and that's the kind of scandal politicians don't want to get out. So they tolerated it and publicly supported her choice, but behind the scenes they're threatening to cut her off. Maya told me the pressure almost worked, but then..."

Don had to take a moment as he struggled to say it.

"We fell in love and that was the final straw for her family. I wasn't the 'correct' kind of rich—the inherited through generations of family prestige type, so our relationship was unacceptable in their eyes." As in Maya was marrying down and further humiliating her family. "So they secretly disowned her and completely cut her out of their lives. We've had no contact with them ever since… I'm not even certain how much they are aware of at this point."

Implying they may not know that Eva even existed? Surely they knew their daughter had died, but they had completely and totally removed her and anyone associated with her from their lives so maybe they didn't? Eva rubbed her eyes.

Maya's family life had a lot of uncomfortable parallels to her own.

"And anyway—yes," Don stood up, pinching the bridge of his nose with stress. "That's enough for now. I need to lie down."

"Oh," Rick got up as well. "Lemme prepare some rooms. Things are a bit of a mess when you never have guests," he said but Don had walked off like he already knew where to go.

Eva watched them both leave.

"I'm gonna take Clark into the garden for a bit," she sombrely said to no one, "before bed."

She roused the sleepy dog from its basket and carried her outside onto the patio. The stars were not visible in the cool, clear night sky from the brightly lit urban neighbourhood, but Eva didn't doubt that they shined brightly as she stared up into the reaches of space thinking of her mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't Eva just look up all this info about her mother on wikipedia? I try to make this goofy but sometimes everyone is just a fuckin' sad sack LOL
> 
> Going with what Savin has said about Don's/Maya's parents but adding onto it. I guess there's gotta be some serious reasons for there to literally be no other family around. So if Rick joins the family Eva suddenly gets a tonne of aunts!


	19. Aikka

He had not won the Great Race, had not won the ultimate prize and had not become the Avatar.

And he had not saved his people.

His actions with his dear alien friend Molly had likely saved many in their galaxy, including her home planet, from experiencing the crushing authoritarian rule of the Crog Imperium, but in the end little had changed for his own home. Nourasia still suffered the Crog's controlling hand.

As he slept alone in the fortress of his captors sometimes the nightmares would speak to him. The haunting image of that beast puppeting Molly around like she were nothing but a doll haunted him—how he had been unable to help, lying trapped under broken marble and concrete—reduced to nothing but an observer as Jordan had jumped…

Afterwards, after the rejuvenation of Oban, the duality of emotions on Master Canaan's face when they'd reunited; both immense relief and yet also disappointment still stuck in his mind as he wished his guardian and teacher were with him now. He knew he had disobeyed many orders on Alwas and on Oban that Canaan had, had no choice but to relay from their occupiers. He knew his every disobedient action put not only himself and his master in direct danger, but also his family and his people.

He thinks of his mother and father back on Nourasia in the palace, still at the mercy of the crogs. The Great Race had been nothing but a waste of time. No—that wasn't true, he had met Molly because of the race. At the end of it all he had managed to keep his dignity and morals, but at what cost? At the end of it all the situation at home had only worsened.

The weakness the crogs had shown during the Great Race had stung. Orders directly from their home planet Kramm were to strengthen their hold on all their colonies and his home was their most precious pawn.

And their cruelty knew no bounds as they had removed him from his family once more. The brief time after the race he could spend with his parents had been a blessing, and the tearful cries from his mother and the desperate pleas from his father as they had broken down when he was once again ripped from them…

So he sits on the open palm of the crog's hand.

From now on he could not disobey any more commands. He could not endanger his parents again. Master Canaan had taught him well. Taught him to be strong and wise, taught him to pick his battles and taught him to protect what his heart cared for. He may not have weapons or his reliable partner, G'dar, but he still has his spirit.

There is a deep anger within him that his planet and people had been nothing but pawns in the interplanetary war between Kramm and Earth. His beautiful, neutral Nourasia had been nothing but a trophy in a war for power and resources. Both alien planets expanding across their galaxy at an alarming rate and it had been Earth that had first begun menacing Nourasia leading to their hasty alliance with the crogs as an attempt to protect themselves.

If only they had known what a grave mistake that had been.

Since that day all power had been stripped from his family and the council of Nourasia reduced to a mere puppet government as the crogs quickly asserted their dominance and plundered the natural resources of his planet. Their shame is not a secret in the galaxy, but he holds his head high still, carrying the pride of his people on his shoulders.

Sometimes he ponders how different things could be if Earth had colonised his home instead of the Crogs. Would things be better or would things be the same? He knew very little about Earth in the present time, only that it was the home of the only true friend he had ever made. A friend who was uncaring to his royal status and saw him for who he really was—even through some of the unfortunate decisions he had chosen to make as a fellow pilot.

Maybe if the earthlings and nourasians had an alliance instead he could have met Molly sooner...

Suddenly there's commotion as several of his keepers bustle into activity around him.

"W-what's happening? Is there something important—"

"Nothing of your concern, Prince," a crog says harshly. "Return to your designated assignment!"

Obeying the order he lowers his head, but a fire burns in his eyes. The crogs have executed their plan! Now isn't the time to sit feeling sorry for himself; he had to help his friends!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Aikka is here! The whole main cast has finally arrived!
> 
> I had to look up the name of the crog home planet. I also didn't really look up much about Nourasia so i'm just mostly bullshitting. I like to think there are parallels to Earth and the crogs considering the crogs were concerned that Earth was getting too big for its boots too quickly.


	20. Taken

It was another late night as Eva and Jordan sat up passed her bedtime playing a game together. The neighbourhood was as quiet and deserted as usual on such a pleasantly warm evening as they sat on the living room floor with the lights dimmed. It felt like one of those too-perfect nights where something unfortunate would happen to ruin the peace, like a tree would fall on the house or something. Jordan shook his head, that was a dumb thought.

"It's getting pretty late," he observed with concern.

Eva leered at him. "Are you scared of the dark or something?"

"N-no! I can glow in the dark!" he blurted when Eva kept looking at him, unconvinced. "A-and even if I couldn't do that I wouldn't be scared anyway!"

"Big wuss," Eva chuckled when he pouted.

But Jordan couldn't shake the persistent feeling that something was wrong or was about to go wrong.

"Where do you think Rick and your dad are?" He'd probably feel better with more people home. Heh, listen to him, calling this place home…

"Probably on a late date or something," Eva replied distractedly.

"Oh, okay..." pause, "wait,  _what!?"_

"Jordan," Eva put her hand on his shoulder, looking at him plainly. "I'm not dumb."

He gaped. "Well, I am! What're you talking about!?"

Now that Jordan spent a considerable amount of time at their place Don didn't feel nervous about leaving Eva alone too late at night anymore, so he would now spend more time at Rick's place doing whatever it was that adults did for fun.

"Uh, well, in Japan—after Japan you can't tell me you haven't noticed the difference?"

Jordan shook his head furiously and she rolled her eyes.

"Dad and Rick got together," Eva put it bluntly.

Jordan cocked his head.

"Like,  _together_ , together," she emphasised for his benefit.

"Huuuuh!? Since when?"

"Since Japan!" she reiterated, beginning to get a bit fed up with his denseness. "They can tell me whenever they're ready, but it's pretty damn obvious to anyone with eyes," she paused and looked at Jordan, "except you."

He pouted.

"That's..." he tried to think of the right words, "that's a helluva bombshell you just dropped on me, E."

The girl took a deep breath to calm herself and stared at him incredulously. "Your kids are gonna be so dumb."

"Hey!"

_'Our kids_ _will_ _not be dumb'_  he thought to himself.

"You really need more social awareness," Eva lectured him.

"I'll tell you what, I'll make a deal with you," Jordan bargained. "I'll forget that little insult if you call 'em, just to make sure everything's normal."

Maybe they'd come home if they knew him or Eva were uneasy being in the house by themselves, then this uncomfortable feeling would go away. Eva observed his clearly anxious body language and sighed.

"Alright! I'll call em! Geeze. But if I hear something I shouldn't I'm gonna punch you," she grumbled as she dialled. He fiddled with his fingers nervously.

The call rang for so long it timed-out without being answered.

"Uh, okay," Eva mumbled worriedly now. "I'll try Rick's number then..."

Same outcome; the call timed-out.

"Jordan..." she looked to him, her eyes wide with fear.

He panicked internally. "Um, they're probably just busy, yeah!"

"Dad  _always_  answers," Eva insisted quietly. "And I trust your intuition..."

"Don't listen to me, I'm an idiot, y'know! Everything's fine! Probably."

He could tell he hadn't convinced her. Eva held the phone tightly, her hand shaking from the pressure, looking down and her brow lowered into a frustrated scowl.

"It'll be fine, seriously," Jordan tried to comfort her again. "Maybe try calling again? I think we should stay here until they get back either way."

Shaking her head, Eva dashed out of the room before Jordan could object.

"Damnit, she never stops to listen!" he cursed as he correctly guessed Eva had run to the garage and to her rocket seat. "Eva, wait!"

"You stay here in case they come back," Eva said as she adjusted her riding goggles. "I'm gonna go to Rick's and see if they're there!"

"Eva!" Jordan tried calling her again but once she had an idea in her head Eva wouldn't stop for anyone. "We should stay together! Eva!"

The rocket seat blasted out of the garage before the door had even finished rising leaving Jordan standing alone in a cloud of dust, a frustrated grimace on his face. He took a step back to think. He was probably wrong and this strange feeling was the result of some bad food he'd eaten. Yeah, that must have been it. Eva would find Rick and Don and they'd all have a good laugh at how they'd overreacted.

Yeah…

He walked slowly back into the house and found the nearest seat in the dining room to perch on, staring at the wall ahead.

 

* * *

 

Eva awoke on the floor of a cold, sterile room.

"Whuh—!?"

She panicked and struggled to her feet. Her head spun wildly as she tried to balance and her limbs felt distantly numb, like she had been tranquillised at some point. When she tried to call out to someone her voice sounded scratchy;

"Jordan? Dad? … Rick?"

But there wasn't any response.

How did she get here? Her memory was failing her. The last thing she remembered was racing over to Rick's house to see if him and her dad were okay, but something must have happened before she could get that far.

Stretching her limbs she searched the area; it appeared to be in a cell—a room much taller than it was wide—with nothing but herself in it, and built very smooth and solid. Running her hands across the walls she couldn't feel any grooves or weaknesses. It was dimly lit somehow and there was a small window placed high up in the door. Even when she stood on her tiptoes she couldn't get high enough to reach it.

She jerked back in surprise when something approached.

The shadow of a large creature passed by the cell door, its featureless face peering in through the glass. It was a crog, and what appeared to be some kind of guard. Eva covered her mouth to prevent any surprised noise escaping.

She'd been kidnapped by crogs!

How had they managed to get near Earth? Did anyone know they were here? Did anyone know  _she_  was here? The alien moved on to the next cell; Eva backed up until she hit the back wall and sliding down to a sitting position, still covering her mouth.

This was crazy! The crogs shouldn't be on Earth! Jordan had taken care of that situation! Though obviously not as she sat in this cell alone. Had they only taken her? Was this why Dad and Rick were missing? Had they got Jordan too? Where all of them on the ship with her being held in different cells—her mind raced with questions as time dragged on and nothing happened.

She slept, maybe for a little while, but it wasn't restful. It was such a light slumber that the brief sound of a slat opening woke her to full alertness. A small window had been revealed lower down on the cell door at a more typical human-like height.

A familiar face looked back at her.

" _Aikka?_ " Eva gasped when the nourasian put a finger to his lips. "Wh-what are you doing on… a… crog ship..."

She stammered as she realised what she was saying. Of course the Crogs and the Nourasians had that alliance. That incredibly one-sided alliance.

"Oh. So your problems were never fixed even after Oban," Eva murmured, ashamed that she had been living her normal life whilst her friend had been suffering. "I'm so sorry..."

Aikka smiled warmly yet it held a tinge of sadness. "It's not your fault, Molly. I'm happy to see you again, although maybe it would've been more pleasant to meet under better circumstances. For now we should concentrate on getting you off this ship."

And of course she wanted to leave but she felt she couldn't leave her friend in this situation by himself. "You'll come with me, right?"

"I will see you off this ship safely," Aikka nodded.

"That's not what I meant..." Eva tried to say but the nourasian continued. He indicated the surrounding cells.

"When I let you out all the other cells will also open; in the chaos I'll lead you to the exit."

Eva pressed up against the door. "But… will the crogs hurt you when they find out? They'll know it was you who helped me!"

"They won't kill me, Molly."

"That's not what I asked!" Eva said angrily. "Will they  _hurt_  you?"

Aikka ignored her. "Get ready."

The nourasian left the door and went off somewhere. Eva pressed her face against the window, trying to watch whatever he was doing, her heart beating loudly in her ears. Then the door suddenly zipped open knocking her back. What followed was a tremendous din of angry and desperate voices as all the other prisoners were also released.

She emerged into a huge circular room, unfathomably tall to be in a spaceship with hundreds and hundreds of cells lining the walls stretching above and below her. All of these cells in the sector she had been held had opened and the prisoners—aliens of all races—had burst out. With nothing but escape on their minds they crowded the walkways and Eva didn't know if they were all innocent creatures like herself or if any of them were dangerous.

Aikka returned to take her hand, breaking her thoughts, and tugged her gently but urgently away. The few crog guards that were patrolling the area were overwhelmed by the other escapees so they didn't notice the nourasian helping the human.

A fair distance away, they ran down surprisingly deserted corridors. She took her hand back from the prince so that they could run more easily; he certainly seemed to know the safest routes around the ship, though after being on board for months that wasn't shocking.

"Tell me what happened," she said as they continued to move.

Aikka glanced back at her. His eyes were very alert but he seemed reluctant to talk. Eva met his gaze and held it, hoping her emotions were properly conveyed. The prince sighed with defeat.

"After their failure to invade Earth after Oban the crogs have strengthened their hold on their colonies, particularly Nourasia. To prevent uprisings they have become even more tyrannical so as not to show the same weakness they demonstrated with your people. I have been held as a ransom on this ship for many months."

"Aikka..."

His story pierced her heart. All this time, after Oban, her family had only been getting bigger whilst Aikka had once again been separated from his own.

"My parents are nothing but pawns for the crogs and I little more than their plaything. They are plundering the natural beauty of Nourasia. My people and my family are suffering and yet," Aikka's hands balled into a fist, shaking, "I can do nothing."

Eva had no doubt that Aikka could break out of the ship with his powerful magic if he so wanted. He could escape the crogs with ease if he were alone. But he had the lives and well-being of an entire planet and peoples on his shoulders, not to mention his family. Eva knew that she would do anything to protect her family as well...

"I want to help you," Aikka continued, frustration growing in his tone. "I want to help someone, I want to be of some use. I want to do some good on this miserable ship."

"Please come back with me," Eva pleaded.

Aikka looked away. "I cannot."

He didn't speak again as they continued their escape. The crog ship felt endless as they sneaked down corridor after corridor, avoiding any open spaces until they came across another towering and deep canyon of a room. It was an actual labyrinth of walkways criss-crossing eachother in every possible direction. Eva could not comprehend how anyone could navigate their way around crog architecture.

"Eva!"

Someone was shouting from the walkway quite a distance beneath them.

"That's—!" she recognised the voice and dashed to the edge of the platform. It didn't have a guardrail so Aikka quickly grabbed for her before her momentum took her over.

When Eva looked over the edge she saw Don and Rick looking back up.

"Dad!!" she cried with relief and Aikka had to hold her back from jumping off the edge—it was far too much of a distance for a human to make safely.

"Eva! Are you okay?" Don called back.

"I'm fine! Aikka helped me!"

Don breathed a sigh and clutched his chest, so desperately relieved.

"You're that boy from Alwas!" Rick recalled. "Weren't you in league with the crogs?"

"He's not like that!" Eva rushed to the defence of her friend. She knew they were only worried about her and that the Crog-Nourasia alliance was not a secret, but there really wasn't time to explain everything right now. "Aikka is the one who released us! Please trust me!"

Rick and Don glanced at eachother as if they were having a quick, silent discussion before looking back up at her. "We'll trust you!" Don said.

Neither of them looked convinced but Eva was relieved anyway.

"There's a circular platform ahead where all the walkways meet," Aikka explained. "Please keep moving forward and we'll meet there! Don't worry, I'll look out for Molly!"

"You had better keep your word!" Don shouted dangerously, ignoring the pseudonym.

Aikka forced Eva back by guiding her shoulders and with some reluctance to look away from her dad and Rick she allowed him to move her. They shared a brief, determined nod and carried on along the walkway.

"So they did take us all," she thought aloud. "I wonder if Jordan is here too. We have to search for him!"

"I'm glad your family is relatively safe," Aikka said with some melancholy but shook his head. "We don't have the time to search. I think that Jordan can look after himself as he is now, but after you're safe I will search the ship for him."

"… I guess you're right," Eva growled with frustration at the situation they were in.

They continued on running along the corridor until they emerged into the circular room Aikka had spoke off. It was a huge platform where dozens of the walkways joined. Aikka led them over closer to the centre of the platform and had them squat behind the railing for safety.

Minutes felt like hours as they waited for Don and Rick to make it to the platform. Eva could barely contain her worry—fearing that they may have been recaptured—and was mere moments away from rushing towards their direction when they appeared from out of the gloom.

"Eva," Don said with relief when he saw her.

"Dad!"

They ran to eachother and Don hugged her tightly. He didn't say anything—just let the action speak for itself—and Eva was so relieved they were together again.

Rick stood close by them, his hands hovering and not certain what to do with himself.

When she stood back from her dad Eva noticed Rick looked very roughed up; his clothes were torn and he had marks on his face, not to mention the smashed lens of his sunglasses.

"Rick, what happened?"

"Got into a bit of a scuffle with the crog who grabbed us," he calmly explained. Closing the distance between them he affectionately patted her head to prove he was okay.

"Because you don't know when you're beat," Don said disapprovingly.

Rick smiled. "I'm not letting anyone take someone I care about without a fight. Guess that MMA training I've been doing didn't really pay off, huh?"

Don frowned.

"Excuse me for interrupting," Aikka said with a note of urgency, "but we really should continue the escape. I can show you the way out from here, follow!"

As a group they were more conspicuous now, but Aikka still managed to lead them through the crog ship with little trouble. They were far from the prison sector now and Eva wondered where Aikka was taking them. To an escape pod maybe? A teleportation device? She wasn't sure if any of them knew how to use that sort of technology. Maybe they would escape on the back of G'dar?

She didn't have time to think about it more as they approached another open area. Aikka put his arm out to stop them and they all hugged the wall to stay out of sight. He signalled that he would go forward alone to scope the area. Eva wasn't sure why he was nervous about this particular place, but she trusted him.

Aikka crept slowly forward into the room, surveying the area carefully. Once he was in the middle and deemed the area clear he motioned for them to follow. Making as little noise as possible they all moved into the room when suddenly Don grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back.

"Eva!"

She lost her balance and fell back just as a laser shot hit the spot she had been standing in. The ground fizzled and burnt as she stared at it with wide eyes. Just then a loud thud echoed around the room as a large crog landed in front of them all.

Righting itself the huge alien eyed them with its one good eye. It appeared to be wearing a high-ranking military uniform as it aimed a laser gun at the group.

"Was this all a trap!?" Don barked.

"I swear it wasn't!" Aikka cried.

The large crog grabbed the nourasian in its other, huge hand, bodily lifting him into the air. Aikka groaned in pain as the hand tightened around him.

"Aikka!" Eva got to her feet.

"You think we weren't watching you this entire time, Prince?" the crog chortled with violent delight. "Nothing escapes the perceptive eye of Colonel Gromm!"

The Colonel tossed Aikka to the floor, hard and with little care for their highly important ransom. Eva dashed over to her friend followed by Don and Rick. The nourasian coughed as she helped him sit up.

"I'm sorry, Molly. I-I made a mistake."

"It's okay, you couldn't have known everything," Eva reassured him. She held him protectively as her dad and Rick stood over them.

Colonel Gromm laughed again. With a tilt of the head it ordered some soldiers from the sidelines to gather around the group, preventing further escape.

"Why did you kidnap us?" Eva angrily demanded. "Is it something to do with Oban?"

"The Avatar," Colonel Gromm said. "We want the Avatar."

"But... I'm the Oban winner, so you must think I'm the Avatar, right?" Eva tried to gauge how much the crogs knew.

"Of course not! We have our information network; we know you are no Avatar, only a mere human."

So they knew that much. Understanding struck her then.

"You kidnapped us to lure Jordan here!" Eva shouted.

The crog with the gun chortled, a deep but rich sound. "You are correct, Oban Champion. If we took those that the Avatar cohabits with then we would surely lure the Avatar to our own battlefield and advantage. We took the large one and the black and white one then you, Oban Champion, when you separated from the Avatar."

"Damnit," Eva hissed. She'd walked right into their trap and Jordan had been correct the whole time. She should have taken him more seriously.

"That's low," Rick growled.

"Does the Earth Coalition know you're here? I suppose not," Don answered his own question.

Colonel Gromm cackled loudly. "Puny human intelligence couldn't hope to detect the mighty Crog Imperium covert operations! Now be obedient little earthlings and get back to your cells. Our only mistake was not putting you in higher maximum holdings."

Eva helped Aikka to stand as the crog military officer menaced them with the gun. He would probably be greatly punished for his part in their escape, but she wouldn't back down without a fight herself.

"I think I could distract this guy for at least a little while," Rick muttered lowly.

"You're in no state to do such a thing," Don cut Rick off sharply before he could continue that line of thought.

Eva hated to think it, but they were in too difficult of a situation. Either Jordan came to save them, they returned to their cells to plan a later escape or a miracle happened. The latter two options felt like they didn't have a high success rate and the first option was too dangerous.

But just as that thought crossed her mind a blinding light consumed the room. If they'd had the sense to they would've used the blinding flash to escape but instead they all simply shielded their eyes. Eva felt a warmth and a slight pressure in her body when the person materialised by her side.

Eva was stunned that he'd actually done it.

"Jordan! What're you doing here!?"

The boy looked around in a panic. "I was worried! It doesn't take this long to go to Rick's house!"

"It's a trap!" Rick warned.

"Run!" Aikka yelled.

Jordan looked between each person shouting at him with confusion. "What's going on? I just got here! Stop shouting at me, guys!"

"Terrific!!" Colonel Gromm cried out with triumph. "The plan was a success! Good day, Avatar. We have much to discuss."

"Uh, hi," Jordan replied warily. "Yeah, listen, I don't really get what's happening right now so I'm just gonna get my friends'n take off, okay?"

"Hold!" the crog altered a setting on the gun and took aim.

A beam of yellow energy came from the gun. Jordan dodged the shot and yelped when a whole section of the floor around where the shot had hit disappeared out of existence.

"Eep! Yeah, definitely not hanging around here. Guys, bunch up!"

Eva recognised his motion for them all to gather together like that one time in Japan, but she could see the others were too confused to react, so she put her arms around Aikka and pulled him over to her dad and Rick. Nodding at Jordan he took the cue and wrapped his arms around the group as much as he could and a flash of light took them away in an instant.

The angry howl of Colonel Gromm was cut off mid-scream as they all landed safely at a different location.

Jordan wiped his brow. "Whew, four people to carry. That took a bit outta me."

They all looked around warily and slightly dazed with what had just happened. It seemed like they were back in the Wei kitchen safe and sound—all of them including Aikka. The after effects of the teleportation made Eva want to heave.

"I—where am I?" Aikka looked around the room with panic.

"In my house," Eva explained calmly.

It must have been confusing for the Nourasian to suddenly be in such a foreign environment in the blink of an eye, especially since moments ago they were all in very real danger.

Aikka turned to her with alarm. "On your Earth? I cannot be here! My family will be in danger if I leave! Why did you bring me here!?"

"It was a bit of a clusterfuck at the time, if you remember!" Jordan defended himself sardonically when the prince turned on him. "I had to get Eva out of there, I didn't have much time to think! I'm still new to this, y'know!"

Despite the situation Eva was relieved that they were all okay and she was happy to have Aikka visit her home, though it would have been preferred to be under better circumstances. She didn't want to send him back to the ship, but she fully understood now the peril that Nourasia was in regarding the crogs. And if sending Aikka back into danger was the  _least_  dangerous thing that she could do, then…

"Jordan," Eva looked to her friend. Her calm demeanour helped to calm him down as well. "Can you teleport him back to the crog ship?"

Unable to make eye contact, Jordan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I can only, uh, teleport to you, E, haha..."

"Oh..."

"If you must return home quickly we'll contact the Earth Coalition," Don spoke up.

The three teens turned to see him tending to Rick's injuries. Rick was in much worse shape than he'd let on; his entire upper body was red and already bruising as if a crog had tried to squeeze the life out of him like a tube of toothpaste.

"We must contact them now!" Aikka implored.

"In the morning," Don ordered. "Everyone needs to rest for now."

The mood whiplash had hit them all hard. The whole ordeal had lasted for all of a few hours but it had drained them mentally and physically; they all looked broken.

"Sorry, little mouse," Rick said with a shockingly weak voice that struck Eva hard.

"Aikka," she looked to her friend apologetically. "We'll go as soon as we're ready. There are things we'll have to do first, so hang on a little while, please?"

"Molly..." the prince didn't seem convinced with her excuse but he was at their mercy now on Earth. "You know your planet better than I—I'll believe you."

"Thanks," Eva offered him a sad smile. "I'll show you somewhere to rest."

Jordan watched them leave the room with a miserable look on his face. This wasn't the hero's accolade he'd expected to receive. His very existence had put Eva— _all of them_ —in danger. Danger they wouldn't normally experience had he not been living a life on Earth with them...

He had to be more careful in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deus Ex Jordan to the rescue! Hey, that's cheating! I wanted to put Stan and Koji into this too, but that would be too many characters to keep track of and make it too long (I sure do complain about this a lot LOL).
> 
> This fic is stuck in 'Simpsons Time' where time passes but no one ever actually gets any older. Eva is never allowed to have a birthday so she'll always be 15. Sorry, Eva!


	21. Ambassador

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my birthday today! Posting the chapter a day early.

Despite the stress of the previous day Eva had slept like a rock so she woke up the next morning to find she wasn't the first one up. Aikka, her dad and Rick were already up, but at least she'd beaten Jordan who was still dead to the world. As she went towards the kitchen she caught the ongoing conversation.

"So you race your beetles rather than any sort of vehicle," Don was saying.

"Yes," Aikka replied despite not knowimg much about Earth-style racing for comparison.

"Is there the same betting culture around it like horse racing here?"

"It's an honourable past time for the royal family and high-ranked citizens only."

"Dad!" Eva scolded when she emerged into the room. "Don't corrupt Aikka with your gambling addiction."

"It's not an addiction," Don argued, sounding a bit scandalised.

Eva began getting herself a simple breakfast. "Yeah, it is. If it isn't you could watch without betting."

"Where's the fun in that? I may as well not watch it at all!"

"Case in point," Rick chuckled tiredly. He still looked pretty rough even after a night of rest.

"Not case in point at all!"

"You have an addictive personality."

"No, I don't!"

"You still got all those capsule toys in your desk drawer?"

"How'd you know about that!?" Don slammed both hands down on the table, probably to distract from his embarrassment.

Aikka was perplexed by the playful argument that was occurring but seemed to want to remain polite. "I could provide a long range transmitter so you could listen to the races directly from Nourasia," he offered.

"Really?" Don was interested.

"No!" Both Eva and Rick cried at the same time.

"If you lose all our money betting on Nourasia we'll lose the house!" Eva teased.

"And you have me and Jordan to provide for now," Rick added slyly.

Don hit the table again. "This is ridiculous! If the free-loaders paid rent it wouldn't be an issue! I think you all don't trust my investments!"

"Investments like that bread maker? How many times have you actually used it?"

"Twice."

"In  _two_  years," Rick stressed. "Case. In point."

Don threw his hands up in defeat though not in acceptance. "Well, since those of us important to today are up we should get sorted. Rick will be going to a specialised Earth Coalition hospital then we'll inquire about your situation," he told Aikka who nodded.

"Nice save, dad," regarding the change of subject.

"Yeah, really stuck the landing," Rick and Eva laughed.

"Shush, you two," Don muttered fondly as he urged Rick to stand up.

Eva could barely conceal a wince when Rick tried to move. He was wearing a loose dressing gown that exposed his horribly bruised chest and she figured it was all he could bear to wear. The man was very good at hiding his pain and she wasn't sure if that was an entirely good thing as he shuffled from the kitchen with Don's help.

"Your family is fascinating," Aikka said when they had gone.

"Weird is what you mean," Eva smiled into her cereal. "Yeah, they're weird but I… I love them."

"Yes..." Aikka looked down at the breakfast he had been served earlier but had not touched. "My family doesn't act in such a..."

"Weird?"

"… close manner."

Eva snorted. "Yeah, well, definitely don't take my family as the norm here on Earth."

"I think your family is very warm."

"Huh?"

Before she could ask more Jordan bungled into the room. "Am I the last one up? No Rick or Don? I'm not last again!?"

"They just left, you're def the last one up," Eva confirmed.

"Craaaap," Jordan slouched into a chair at the table, rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes and serving himself breakfast. He had this strange complex about being the last to rise in a morning.

"How did you sleep?" Eva asked Aikka.

The boy was looking down into his bowl. "Well enough..."

Eva didn't believe him. "Really?"

"Actually, no," Aikka admitted. "I didn't sleep at all. I don't mean to be rude but your beds are not very comfortable."

"'cos it was a sofa," Eva explained. "We don't have any spare rooms left and Dad won't let you stay in my room—"

Jordan nodded frantically in agreement.

"—and I don't think you want to bunk with Jordan..."

Jordan shook his head frantically in agreement. Him and Aikka narrowed their eyes at eachother casing Eva to roll her eyes.

"You probably wouldn't be able to sleep with Jordan snoring anyway," she sent a toothy grin the boy's way.

"It's not  _that_  bad!" Jordan complained.

"Sounds like a jackhammer and a trumpet had a baby and that noise is your snoring."

"Evaaaa, c'monnn..."

"I had to share a room with you on Oban, I know!"

"I don't need this kind of abuse so early," Jordan grumbled. "I work very hard every day..."

Eva leered at him, speaking around a mouthful of cereal. "You didn't work very hard on my creative writing homework… I got a C minus."

"And when Don found out he revoked my bathroom privileges," Jordan recited the memory dryly, "so  _that's_  not gonna happen again."

"I still can't believe you p—"

"Anyway!" Jordan expertly interrupted. "What time does the Prince normally wake up?"

Aikka raised his head with surprise that he was being included now. "My au pair usually wakes me just before the sun rises but I'm unsure what that time is exactly here on Earth."

Jordan looked positively disgusted. "Feh—ugh, whatever, should've guessed," he continued sleepily spooning cereal into his mouth.

"Eva! Get ready, we'll be leaving soon!" Don shouted from across the house.

Jordan put a finger in his ear. "Damn, Don's still loud as—"

" _Ok_ _aaa_ _ay_ ,  _D_ _ad!_ " Eva shouted back even louder.

"Argh! E! My delicate ears!" Jordan cried. "It's too early in the morning for this..."

"You knew what you were getting into when you moved in," Eva smirked.

Leaving their breakfasts at different stages of eaten they all got dressed for the day and freshened up, meeting back around the kitchen table. Eva felt an unwelcome bundle of nerves in her stomach, and if she was nervous already she couldn't image how Aikka was feeling. She looked to him.

"Okay?"

"Yes," Aikka nodded.

When Rick and Don returned to the kitchen (which had become the unofficial meeting area these days), Rick had managed to dress himself appropriately though he looked uncomfortable. Don got the car keys and checked his phone.

"I don't have a private line to the Earth Coalition anymore so the best they can do is meet us at a location and then transfer us securely to the appropriate facility," he explained.

"No time to waste then, huh? Let's get going!" Jordan said.

" _You_  are not going anywhere," Don said firmly.

Jordan paused mid-getting-up from the chair. "Wha'? Why not?"

"Do you have  _any_  idea what kind of things could happen should the Earth Coalition find out about you? You know how power hungry and trigger happy McMullen is—if he assumes to have the Avatar on the side of Earth who could say what kind of extremes he would go to, to colonise the galaxy. Your neutrality will only put us all in danger."

"But… I want to see if Rick and Aikka will be okay..."

"Appreciate your concern, my man, but don't worry," Rick lifted his head. "Just hang back for the sake of Earth, yeah?"

Jordan winced.

"Jordan… I'm sorry. Please stay behind. I'll tell you everything later," Eva said.

"Everything will be fine, I'm sure. Please do not worry," Aikka added.

Jordan looked between the both of them, settling on looking deep into the girl's pleading eyes. With a sigh of defeat he flopped back on the chair.

"Whatever. Fine, go without me."

"Sorry..." Eva sincerely apologised again.

She knew Jordan disliked being excluded and now to be excluded because he was a potential danger to them? To all of Earth maybe? Yeah, that was heartbreaking. She hated to leave him in the house by himself—he really had nothing to do on Earth when they weren't together and that wasn't healthy. Maybe they'd have to look into finding him a hobby or something…

Rick eased himself into the passenger seat of the car and Eva could tell he was trying to hide his pain so they all played along and didn't mention it. She sat in the back seat with Aikka andas they drove along the nourasian openly awed at all the other cars passing by on the road.

"Your methods of transport are very enclosed," he observed.

"Cars are a bit slower than star-racers," Eva laughed. "How do you get around on Nourasia?"

Aikka struggled to take his attention away from all the new things he was seeing for the first time. "We use the shed carapaces of our beetles infused with magic. There are a lot less people around as well—this is a very busy place you live."

Eva couldn't imagine how riding around in the shell from something like G'dar would work but she knew that Aikka cared for his steed very much. She didn't know if G'dar was particularly special or if most Nourasians had their own beetle, if they were larger or smaller or what, but they were probably a core feature of the culture. Depending on how this meeting went they might have more time to talk about their lives together later.

Or Aikka would be sent back into the hands of the crogs and she'd never see him again.

The remainder of the journey was spent with them all answering Aikka's inquisitive questions when eventually they reached a certain building at an industrial estate at the very edge of the city. Eva wasn't certain how her dad knew where to go, but when the car stopped he turned around to address them all.

"I don't know what will happen from here on so be on your best behaviour."

The briefing they had received on their return from Oban had been the only time Eva had dealt personally with the Earth Coalition, and they had seemed extremely strict and controlling—certainly not the type of organisation someone would want to get on the wrong side of.

"And nobody mention Jordan," she added almost as a reminder to herself as some agents approached the car.

Don got out and spoke to the men. When he was pointed out, Aikka suddenly tensed as he sat up straight, looking proper. "Are these people representatives of Earth?" he asked.

"I guess," Eva replied unhelpfully. She didn't actually trust them.

The agents knocked on the back window so Eva leaned over the prince to operate it open. Aikka stared back at the men observing him silently with hard eyes, not giving them so much as an inch of weakness no matter how out-of-place he looked in the back of an Earth car. The agents seemed to come to a silent agreement between themselves and spoke to Don some more.

"Heh, bunch of self-important..." Rick grumbled to himself quietly. "I really can't deal with these sorta people."

"I can't either," Eva concurred and Aikka looked at her with concern.

"It'll be fine, kiddo," Rick turned his head to Aikka. "We'll get you back to your family."

The nourasian nodded slowly. "I appreciate all your help."

Following directions from the agents their group was moved into a government vehicle for 'privacy' reason but Eva understood it was actually for secrecy reasons. They were being hidden. The windows were dark so they couldn't see out as they were taken to another location. This really wasn't the sort of welcome to Earth Eva had wanted to give her friend.

Aikka sat still—tense—but with a restless energy that boiled just under the surface. The curiosity in his eyes from earlier had all but evaporated under the suspenseful atmosphere. Rick and her dad had some banal conversation going on that Eva didn't feel like joining in, instead she put her hand on Aikka's shoulder to reassure him. He met her eyes with surprise and they smiled.

When they arrived  _wherever_  they where agents hastily bustled them out into a characterless building.

"The Prince will meet with the President immediately and Mr Thunderbolt will be taken to the hospital wing," one of the guards said, gesturing for Aikka to split from their group.

But Eva was unwilling for them to all be separated. "But we all need to see if Rick will be okay!"

"The President has a tight schedule," the agent insisted.

Eva looked between Rick and Aikka, torn between who to support. Rick picked up on her hesitation.

"It'll be alright, lil' mouse, I'll have Don with me," Rick said and Don looked up, peeved that the decision had been made for him as Rick continued, "besides, you know Aikka's situation better than us anyway."

She wasn't completely convinced, but Rick was trying his best not to worry her (and that made her worry more), but she couldn't disagree with him.

"Okay, if you're sure..."

The agents indicated that they should move off in different directions.

"Come visit my bedside later, and bring flowers—that's what visitors do," Rick waved lazily as he shuffled off.

Don frowned. "Be careful," he said to her quietly and Eva nodded.

Despite Eva's wishes the guards split them up. She and Aikka were led down a seemingly never-ending series of corridors lined with offices before they were directed into one of the random waiting rooms.

They sat together awkwardly, looking lost in the large room. A guard blocked the door preventing them from leaving or anyone else entering, so they couldn't talk privately. Not that Eva wouldn't trust the place to not be bugged with some government peon listening in on them hoping they'd let something important slip.

"This isn't exactly how I thought I'd introduce you to Earth," Eva sighed into the silence.

"When everything is over please introduce me to your planet as you intended," Aikka replied. Whenever 'everything'  _would_  be over. Despite his circumstances Aikka always had a confident outlook.

"And you'll show me Nourasia?"

"Of course," Aikka smiled.

After that brief exchange they sat in silence for a while. Eva was comfortable with Aikka's companionship even in such a serious situation. Playing politics was beyond her experience (if she could fight for Aikka's freedom via a race she'd be much happier), but Aikka was a prince so speaking with important people was probably half of his life.

"Molly," Aikka spoke up again. The seriousness in his voice worried her. "I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened with surprise. "W-what're you apologising for?"

"Back on Oban—that… I'm sorry I was not more help."

Eva's mouth moved wordlessly. "Don't apologise!"

"Sometimes I still have visions of that moment," his eyes looked haunted.  _That_  moment, yes, she had nightmares about it too. "And I regret I could not have done more."

She stuttered. "That was—it's— _everything_  was because of me! I'm the one that put you all in danger! You were hurt and Jordan was—! I'm sorry!"

Aikka turned to her sharply. "Molly! You don't need to apologise!"

"Then don't apologise to me either!" Eva replied loudly. "Idiot!"

Aikka was taken aback by her outburst, then laughed gently. "We're a pair of fools."

Eva looked at him.

"I—" Aikka paused. "I'm glad to have you as a friend," he blushed.

"Me too," Eva grinned.

She looked to the guard's expressionless face who had overheard their little heat-to-heart but the man had no reaction. A considerable amount of time passed with them trapped in the room, or maybe it just  _felt_  like a long time. They should have had lots to say to eacthother but neither of them could muster up much conversation. Didn't the President want to talk immediately? She grumbled.

The silence in the room was broken when the door opened and her dad entered. She noticed they all had a guard following them around.

"Dad! How's Rick?" Eva jumped to her feet.

"He's fine, relatively speaking," Don said. "He'll have to stay at the hospital for a while so we'll sort that out later, but what're you doing here? Did you speak with McMullen yet?"

Eva huffed. "Nope, after all that crap about being in a hurry they've just shoved us in here until now."

"It has given me time to gather my thoughts," Aikka said, "but I do wish to hurry for my family's sake. They could be in great danger due to my disappearance."

As if prompted another official entered the room at that moment.

"The President will see you now," she said and they were directed into a different room down the long maze-like hallway.

Despite the previous posturing their meeting with the President began late anyway. They sat at a large table in a windowless room with both guards who had accompanied them by the door. Aikka sat stiffly beside her but Eva was restless, and she could tell her dad was annoyed with the delay. It wasn't much longer when the door finally opened.

"Good morning, Earth Team," McMullen haughtily greeted when he entered the room with his own personal bodyguard and secretary. "I shouldn't have to say this but; everything that is discussed during this meeting  _will_  remain top secret."

This was the first time Eva was meeting the Earth Coalition President in person. His appearance was not intimidating but he had a particular aura about him that suggested a certain pragmatic cruelty. He was the one who had ordered her to continue racing despite her father's protests, not that she would've stopped anyway.

He could have them disappeared with a flick of his wrist.

She found that she couldn't return his greeting without some choice words also coming out but Aikka and Don returned the greeting.

"I am the President of the Earth Coalition; President McMullen," the man introduced himself to Aikka. "And you must be Aikka, Prince of Nourasia. You seem to have caused quite a situation for us."

"Sir? It's an honour to meet you. Thank you and I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused," Aikka replied.

McMullen chuckled. "Such a polite young man, you represent your planet well. Now explain to me how you came to be on Earth as our governments do not have any kind of treaty. You are currently an illegal alien on our planet."

Eva scowled, the only thing stopping her from speaking up was the stern glance Don sent her. Aikka took a moment and explained his situation, leaving their actual escape vague which the President oddly accepted.

"I want a way to contact the crog ship so that I can return," Aikka ended with a demand.

But the President didn't reply immediately, sitting with a hand to his chin and thinking. "That won't be necessary," he eventually said.

"What?" Aikka gasped with confusion.

"But he has to go back or his parents might be hurt!" Eva shouted.

Despite being the champion of Oban, McMullen had little respect for her. She had outlived her use to him and was now just a teenager who knew too much.

"What do you know, Mr President?" Don asked suspiciously. "Are you not concerned that crogs landed on Earth without the Coalition's knowledge, or that they took us from our homes?"

McMullen merely nodded to himself. "We are aware of the situation. Diplomatic talks between the Earth Coalition, the Crog Imperium and Nourasia have been under way for quite some time."

Eva scoffed with disbelief.

"Bring in our guest!" McMullen suddenly snapped his fingers.

At McMullen's signal a familiar face was led into the room followed by yet another guard; an older Nourasian man with a well-kept beard and a more ornate headpiece.

"M-Master!" Aikka gasped, half-rising from his seat before he stopped himself from running over to the man.

"Its good to see you, my Prince," Canaan said stiffly. His eyes were hard which caused Aikka to lower into his chair again, resting his hands, curled into fists, on the table.

Eva glanced between both Nourasians, expecting more of a reaction but McMullen continued speaking instead.

"The young Nourasian Prince actually has very fortunate timing," the President raised his hands as he spoke. "As it happens Earth and Nourasia have come to a recent arrangement regarding our conflict with the Crog Imperium."

"That must be a very recent arrangement," Don said distrustfully.

"Yes," McMullen replied curtly, clearly unwilling to elaborate. "Of course I am always working in the best interests of Earth. This agreement is beneficial to both our peoples."

Canaan nodded along but Eva thought she could see the ghost of a grimace when he did so.

The Nourasia-Kramm alliance and the tensions between the Earth Coalition and the Crog Imperium had prevented any diplomacy between Earth and Nourasia before now. It was suspiciously convenient that something had been so suddenly agreed upon. It was impossible to separate the Nourasian monarchy from the Crogs, looking at Aikka, Eva knew this well.

"Prince Aikka will be staying on Earth as a representative of Nourasia," McMullan laid it out. "An ambassador if you will."

"Sir!?" Aikka looked between McMullen and Canaan frantically.

"He cannot stay at our house," Don said quickly before Eva could get any ideas. "We don't have any spare rooms left."

"We would if you and Rick would share," Eva pointed out.

Don stalled. "W-what?"

"Of course we wouldn't put the burden on you," McMullan continued, uncaring to whatever drama was going on in the Wei household. "We have arranged suitable accommodations for the Prince."

"Thank you, sir," Aikka bowed, slightly shaken by the news.

"Thank you," Canaan echoed.

The President rose from his seat at this moment. "That's all for now. Meeting adjourned. You will have a moment to yourselves before we move on with the preparations. Have my gratitude for your report."

"Thank you, Mr President," Don replied shortly.

"Yeah," Eva huffed at the way they were dismissed.

With McMullen and the guards gone it left them some sense of privacy for the first time since they'd arrived; Aikka shot up from his chair and over to his master. They didn't embrace, rather, Aikka stood close and bowed low. Canaan's eyes softened then.

"I am so relieved you're doing well, my Prince," the man smiled. "Raise your head."

"How are Mother and Father?" Aikka asked urgently.

Canaan chuckled softly. "They are doing as normal," he said carefully. "They miss you very much but they are safe."

A weight was lifted from Aikka's shoulders with the news.

"That's great, Aikka!" Eva cheered. "Things turned out… okay, I guess? And you get to stay on Earth."

She wasn't actually sure how things had turned out, but Aikka would be safe on Earth. Almost like a new status quo had been reached.

"I hope this all wasn't a mistake," Don muttered.

Since they couldn't explain the true reason for their kidnapping their story had made it seem like the crogs had abducted them unprompted, and even after Jordan's warning to both governments under guise as the Avatar, a war could still break out over it.

Canaan looked uneasy. "We can only deal with a situation when it arises. Come, my Prince, we shouldn't keep our hosts waiting."

"Yes, Master." Aikka turned back to Eva and Don to bow. "Thank you for all your help. Molly, I'm so glad to have met you again. I hope we can now spend more time together."

Eva gave him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, I'll show you all the awesome things on Earth! We need to know what popcorn team you're on!"

Aikka gave her a bemused but happy look and she realised what he was still calling her.

"By the way," Eva smiled. "My name is Eva."

"It's a beautiful name," Aikka returned her smile.

* * *

 

They had to leave Aikka and Canaan in the hands of the Earth Coalition now. Eva did  _not_  fully trust them but they had no choice. This was politics, and the only one on 'their side' who was any good at that sort of thing was her dad, who was being unusually quiet.

"What're you thinking about?" she asked as they continued down the hall.

"How did they—no, it's nothing," he replied evasively.

Eva narrowed her eyes in thought. Obviously Don didn't trust the Earth Coalition either, but they certainly couldn't discuss any worries in the lair of the very beast. How did the Earth Coalition organise Canaan to be on Earth so quickly when they had only called in Aikka's situation that very morning...

Rick had a private room in the hospital wing and Eva presented him with some old and wilted flowers she'd stolen from a different room.

"Thanks, little mouse," Rick chuckled and put them down as Eva took the seat by his bed.

"Are you okay?"

It was uncomfortable to see Rick look so vulnerable. His chest had turned an ugly mess of blue and purple splotches as he sat propped up in the bed with his hair tied back and his sunglasses missing.

"Several fractured ribs and a bruised lung," Don answered instead.

Rick nodded nonchalantly. "I think I came out of it pretty well, considering. Those crogs have a helluva grip. Beats being choked, I guess."

It was the second time Rick had been manhandled by a crog now.

"Kinda painful to breathe though, if i'm honest..." he displayed a note of defencelessness here.

"The doctor recommended breathing exercises to be done hourly until you're back on your feet."

Eva got the sense that her dad was taking this very seriously compared to Rick's aloof attitude to the whole thing.

Rick pointed out some plasters on his chest. "Got these bad boys for pain relief."

"Lidocaine plasters," Don provided. "As well as anti-inflamatory tablets, so we'll have to add those to your regular prescription routine."

"You're being very thorough," Rick observed.

"Yes, well, it's only natural to care for your significant other."

"Ah—"

It surprised Eva that he'd just come out and said it like that and Rick was shocked too judging by the expression on his face. They'd probably had an agreement to bring it up at a later date but, well, they weren't exactly sneaky so...

Eva gasped dramatically.

"Eva, you've shown you already know," Don said flatly.

"Everyone already knows," Rick piped up.

Now Don looked shocked. "What? Since when?"

Rick shrugged. "Since Japan I assume."

" _What!?_ "

"We have to teach you to be more observant. You and Jordan have more in common than you think."

Don made an offended noise, crossing his arms and turning away. "Now you're just being unnecessarily insulting."

Unsure of what to say now, Eva laughed softly. She had known Rick for less than a year but already felt so comfortable with him. He was the first adult to treat her with respect in her whole adolescent life and he seemed to have developed a good understanding of her. She knew he was a good man otherwise her dad wouldn't keep him around. If he were to spend even more time with them… that would be nice.

"We're family now, little mouse," Rick chuckled jokingly.

"We were already family, Rick," Eva replied quietly, genuinely, looking down at her hands. "I appreciate you a lot."

Rick froze, stunned and overwhelmed by her admission. He quickly regained his composure, looking down himself.

"Thanks, Eva."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter sucks. I hate the pacing of it but i really can't be arsed to re-write and/or fix it! Who cares! I have nothing positive to say this time.


	22. Earth Life

Rick had them out in the garden to demonstrate his newfound interest; gardening! Neither Eva nor Don knew anything about gardening so they just listened as Rick explained what he could do and what they wanted to be done in the garden.

"As long as it looks nice I don't really care," Don said.

Rick made a face. "You could at least pretend to take some interest in my new hobby."

Don looked put-upon as he pointed to a flower. "What's that?"

"It's a begonia."

"And that one?"

"Primula."

"The daisy-looking one?"

"Rhodanthemum."

Don pointed to another.

Rick groaned. "You know what, nevermind. Go back inside."

"Thank you," Don said with relief and hurried away and Eva laughed.

"Will you grow some flowers I can put on mom's grave?" she asked and Rick smiled warmly.

"Sure thing, little mouse. We'll work out the perfect bunch together."

Eva got her phone out and took a photo of Rick when he returned to digging in some soil, feeling proud that he had finally found a hobby-slash-job and wasn't just moping around wasting his life anymore. But then she checked the time.

"Oh! But we have a raid! C'mon, Rick, you said you'd be our fifth man!"

Rick looked up at the sky. "Sorry, kiddo, gonna have to call in a sick day on the videogames. If I don't get these planted before it rains they're gonna wilt—I've left it too long already."

"Rick, c'mooooon," she whined but Rick firmly shook his head. "Ugh, it sucks you have a hobby now but not really because I'm proud of you but also yeah—fiiiine..."

The ex-pilot chuckled as she sulked off back to the house before an idea hit her and she dialled Oban.

"Jordan! We need a fifth member for the raid and I'm calling for your help! No, it's—it's not—Jordan, it's a game! Earth isn't being attacked—I'm fine, Jordan! Calm down! Listen, it's a  _videogame_! Oh, my god..."

* * *

 

The temperature on Earth was much lower compared to Nourasia, at least in the region Aikka found himself, and it was a lot less humid. He was in a forest like his homeland but rather then lush greenery and nature it was hard and loud, the trees replaced with towering buildings and it was artificially bright at night. How humans could sleep in such a busy, noisy and bright environment was beyond him.

At least the building he was to live in on Earth was quiet, and he hoped, if he were staying here for long enough, he could add a Nourasian touch to his room. He had never received his weapons after their escape from the crog ship and he noted that his master had been disarmed as well. That made him uncomfortable but he understood that any guests to his palace in Dol would be likewise disarmed.

His new home was heavily guarded but the people didn't interfere as he moved about. The building that had been transformed into the new Nourasian embassy was one of many alien embassies on the street and he thought he should introduce himself to his neighbours sometime. Compared to his palace there was little room so G'dar had been moved out of the city and it pained him to be separated from the best friend he had, had all his life but life on Earth didn't require his steed or magic. He had the freedom to visit G'dar whenever he wished.

"Sir?" one of his new human handlers gently knocked on the door before opening it. "You have a guest in the waiting room."

"Thank you," Aikka nodded.

Finishing up with the computer he'd been slowly typing a message to his family on, he straightened his clothes and hurried down to the waiting room. There was only one person he could think of who would visit him on Earth.

"Molly!"

The girl looked up from her phone and grinned when he entered the room. Here in her homeland Molly looked much more vibrant—less deeply troubled—as she embraced him in a tight hug which he gladly reciprocated.

"Wait, lemme get a photo!" she said before he could separate from her. She leaned in close to him and faced the phone towards them. It clicked which seemed to satisfy her as she then showed him it. "Our first Earth selfie!"

"Yes," he said happily despite not knowing what that was. His expression in the picture looked rather dazed. "It's so great to see you again."

"It is! Well, you ready to hit the town? There's so much we want to show you!"

"We?"

Molly grunted. "I mean  _I_  want to show you. Damnit. C'mon, let's just go!"

"I just need to inform Master that I'll be leaving, please give me a moment."

Canaan wasn't thrilled that he would be venturing into an Earth town with the girl who had been nothing but trouble the entirety of the Great Race. Aikka didn't appreciate how his master thought of Molly, but in his new position as an Ambassador he had more personal autonomy, so Canaan had less direct control over him now. He was free to leave whenever he wanted to. In the current reality it felt like his human guards had gained more control over his life the moment he had accepted the Ambassador role.

"I actually have some tasks I must do," he said to Molly when they rejoined. "Maybe you can help me."

"Sure, sure." Molly seemed a bit on-edge as she spoke, like she wasn't completely comfortable in the embassy.

He signed himself and Molly out with the guards at the embassy building door and Molly non-too-obviously took his wrist to lead him away quickly. Her vaguely paranoid behaviour confused him at first until she took him a few streets down from the building and it all became clear.

Jordan was waiting for them a safe distance away from anything Earth government-related. Aikka checked behind them to be sure they weren't being followed or monitored.

"Hey, Prince!" Jordan waved.

"Is it safe for you on Earth?" he asked urgently in lieu of returning the greeting.

Jordan put his hands on his hips. "Well, hello to you too. Yes, I'm fine on Earth, I've been here for a while."

"He actually lives with me most of the time," Molly informed him.

Aikka looked back and forth between both humans then settled on Jordan. "And you're just allowed to leave Oban whenever you like? And that's  _okay_?"

"It's  _fine_ ," Jordan reassured him. "How'd you think I came to save your ass if I wasn't on Earth anyway?"

"That was—" he cut himself off. He wanted to say it was unnecessary but Jordan's actions had actually led to this betterment of his life so, he sighed. "Thank you."

"Hah?" Jordan put a finger in his ear, not quite believing what he had heard.

"For saving me," Aikka continued as unwilling as he was to admit it. "And for taking care of Molly."

He averted his gaze as Jordan stared for a moment before the Avatar burst out in laughter and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"You're both hopeless," Molly looked between them with a big smile. "That's enough mushy stuff, I'm starving! Let's grab something to eat! You've probably never left that building yet, right?"

Aikka shook his head.

"Then let's show you some five-star Earth cuisine! Jordan, onward!"

"Aye, aye, partner!" Jordan saluted and started off down the street.

"By the way," Molly turned to him with hands on hips in a scolding manner. It was more cute than anything else. "My name is Eva, remember?"

"Yes, of course. My apologies."

He had to make a mental note of that. Why she had changed her name he didn't know yet, but her and Jordan seemed comfortable with it so he should probably use it as well.

* * *

 

Pizza Hut.

"Pizza Hut?" Jordan asked with disbelief as they were seated at a table. "This is your idea of fine cuisine?"

"Pizza is a food from the heavens," Eva defended herself.

"Pizza Hut pizza is a food from the trash."

Eva dismissed him. "Pff, we'll let Aikka decide for himself. What d'you want?"

He was seated at a small table next to Eva with Jordan sat opposite them. Trying to understand the menu was a futile effort; it was a confusing mess of foodstuff names he had no knowledge of.

"I'll have whatever you recommend," he eventually said.

Soon enough a waitress came to their table to take their order. The human woman let her eyes linger on him for just a little longer than was necessary and he worried his identity had been discovered. Not that he was actively hiding it however, and it was incredibly unlikely any Earthling would recognise him anyway.

Jordan made his order and added; "with extra pepperoni."

"We'll have the shortcrust," Eva indicated herself and Aikka. "With pineapple."

Jordan choked. The waitress took their menus and left.

"E! We're trying to make Aikka  _like_  Earth, why would you do this to him!"

Eva slammed her hands on the table. "It's an  _Earth Heritage Food_!"

"It's cruel and unusual punishment!"

The pair argued what seemed to be a well-trodden path. Their unbridled passion over such a subject was inspiring. He had never felt so free with friends his own age in all his life. For once he was unburdened from his royal responsibilities.

Aikka laughed brightly. "You're both so energetic. I'm having a good time."

"You won't be when you eat," Jordan muttered, ignoring the look he got from Eva.

"I'm willing to try all your food," he said truthfully.

Jordan just put his face in his hands. "Why you gotta validate E like this."

Their food was soon served and it was good! It was his first time eating Earth pizza and he didn't understand why they had made such a fuss about it prior; the pineapple was good! When he told Eva this she fist-bumped him and Jordan gave him the stink-eye.

The boy shook his head. "You're beyond help now and it's only day one."

It was an adventurous experience eating and chatting with his companions. It was so nice to be reunited with Molly—Eva again; their situation during the Great Race had been rocky and charged with emotion, he understood they both had their reason for the things that had happened. Maybe they'd be able to talk those out more, but for today it was a stress-free tour of local Earth culture!

Jordan left them to use the toilet and as they finished up and were getting ready to leave Eva groaned with annoyance. He looked over to notice another group of humans were being seated near them.

"Ugh, the good day is ruined," Eva pre-empted the blonde boy of the group. "We're leaving already, don't even bother Arny."

"Eva Wei! I see you have a new friend," the boy laughed haughtily. "Can't get human friends so really scraping the bottom of the alien barrel, huh? A Nourasian, honestly..."

"You shit! Shut your mouth!" Eva threatened the boy with a fist.

Aikka noticed the boy recoiled at that but quickly regained his composure when his companions rallied around him. Typical cowardly behaviour.

"If you have something to say to me you can address me directly," he said with strength in his voice. The boy scoffed, a retort already on his tongue.

"I don't need to speak to a Nour— _eeuhh_!" the boy suddenly made a strange sound and all the colour in his face drained away.

Jordan had rejoined them at that point. "Oh, god, it's that Jr. Jr. kid."

The boy was clearly reacting to Jordan's presence which was rather puzzling. His wide eyes were trained on Jordan as if he thought he'd disappear if he looked away even for a second, but outside of their small group who knew him as the Avatar there really wasn't anything intimidating about Jordan.

"I don't want to eat here anymore!" the boy blurted out. The tinge of fear in his tone when he spoke was clear.

The other boys he were with all glanced at eachother. "Why not?"

"We just got here, dude," one complained.

"I changed my mind, this place sucks! We're going somewhere else!" the boy walked backwards out of the restaurant never once taking his eyes off Jordan.

Aikka watched with a mix of amusement and bewilderment as the blonde boy tried to make it not look obvious that he was running away. With a tilt of his head, Jordan folded his arms, equally confused.

"What's his problem?"

"I think he's scared of you, Jordan," Eva observed with concern.

Jordan frowned.

Who was this other human boy and why was he a source of concern? He looked like any other human, maybe a little more timid than other people he had met, but certainly nothing too unusual.

" _He saw_ ," Eva hissed across the table.

Jordan leaned in as well. "What? Nooo, we were drunk, he wouldn't remember a thing!"

" _He_  wasn't drunk!  _You_  were. He saw!"

Aikka was confused. "What did he see? Is there trouble?"

Eva rubbed her face and Jordan lowered his head. It seemed like a lot had happened whilst he had been held by the crogs.

"No, nothing," Eva grumbled. "That's Arnaldo Jr. Jr., he's just my classmate. He's a jerk, ignore him."

That didn't convince him but he had little choice but to drop the subject. He was obviously under informed on whatever the situation was.

The mood had been dampened somewhat as they left the restaurant and explored some of the city. The streets were beyond bustling; it felt like there were more people in this one city than the entirety of Nourasia.

"I want more stuff for my room," Jordan said as they walked. "It's so empty. You think Don'll give me an allowance if I do some chores?"

"More like he'll make you do the chores and then not pay you. Dad doesn't really like you that much," Eva replied honestly.

"Does Don like  _anyone_?"

Eva thought for a moment. "Me and Rick?"

Jordan clicked his tongue. "I need money!"

"Have you tried getting a job?" Aikka asked as if it should've been obvious and Jordan gave him an unamused look in response.

"I can't. I'm not, like, a registered person anymore. I'm 'dead'," he finger-quoted 'dead' and huffed. "No one even knows I'm on Earth or living at E's place."

"Then I may have a solution," Aikka ventured. "There are certain tasks I have been given in my new position but I'm unsure of how to handle them. I think if Jordan does them instead I'll give him the payment intended for me."

Both Eva and Jordan gave him a surprised look at the offer. Was it really that strange? He was beginning to feel awkward for suggesting it. Then they both broke out in sly grins which only made him feel more confused.

"Aikka, that's so sneaky," Eva said. "I like it."

Jordan shrugged. "Who knew the Prince had it in him to lie, not very honourable of you,  _ehh_? But I'll take it! What kind of tasks?"

"I have to, ah," Aikka struggled to explain, "integrate with human life here on Earth. I must restock the food supplies, deliver packages, walk the embassy's dog among other such menial things."

Compared to what he had dealt with most of his life under the thumb of the crogs this Ambassador business had been very mundane so far. It was actually a nice breather, and he knew his parents were safe and he had Canaan with him again so maybe he could finally relax a bit? On a strange, foreign planet that was easier said than done.

"You want me to be your errand boy?" Jordan deadpanned.

"If that's the proper term for it, yes?" his voice rose with uncertainty.

"Aikka is the embassy's errand boy and Jordan is Aikka's errand boy!" Eva began laughing then stopped abruptly. "What kind of dog?"

Aikka glanced around for examples. "I-I don't know, sorry. It's about this high..."

"Oh, a big dog!" Eva clapped happily which made Aikka feel happy too. "We could walk it and Clark together!"

"Clark?" he tilted his head.

Eva nodded. "We have a—uh, Rick has a dog called Clark, she's adorable! Sometimes I walk her so I can show you all the best places to go."

"I'd like that."

Jordan blew his lips with a pout. "I thought I was doing these things now, not Aikka!"

"We can all do it together! It's fun!" Eva smiled. "More dogs means more fun!"

"Can't argue with that I suppose," Jordan ceded then glanced at Aikka. "Sooo, buddy..."

Aikka merely stared back at the boy—his companion— _friend?_ —understanding what Jordan wanted but wanted to make him say it instead.

"Can I get an advance on that moolah?"

Okay, it wasn't phrased exactly how he'd thought it would be.

"The coin, our paper masters, that cash money, y'know?" Jordan continued. "Can I, er, have it now?"

Eva shook her head. "You're so bad at asking for favours," she muttered.

"I need new clothes!" Jordan cried.

That piqued Aikka's interest. "Actually that's also what I need. To properly integrate I must dress the part."

Jordan looked him up and down. "Yeah, your clothes are a bit weird here. Socks with sandals? Tsk, tsk, tsk."

In return he looked Jordan up and down as well. The Avatar's clothes, while obviously Earth-style, were ratty and well-worn. It was obvious he had been wearing the same outfit for too long. Neither boy looked impressed with the other.

"So we're going shopping?" Eva grinned wickedly. "Oh,  _boy._ "

* * *

 

Hot Topic.

"Hot Topic?" Jordan peered into the shop, less-than-enthusiastic.

Eva nodded, looking between both boys. "Earth's most high class clothing store."

"Nah, E. Nah."

Aikka also took a good look in the shop. "Really?"

"Don't let her fool you," Jordan warned him seriously.

It made him slightly worried if he were honest. Not that he knew anything about Earth culture or fashion, but he trusted M—Eva and she wouldn't lead him astray, surely? He voiced this thought to Jordan.

Who simply shrugged. "Sounds like someone doesn't know Eva as well as he thought he did. Don't say I didn't try to warn ya. If you don't mind, E, I'll give Hot Topic a miss and try somewhere else."

"You don't like pineapple pizza, you like salted popcorn, you wouldn't know good taste if it fell into your mouth!" Eva shouted after the boy as he walked off, laughing. "Joke's on him, he doesn't have any money anyway."

Yes, Aikka hadn't handed it over yet. He hoped that wouldn't cause any trouble.

"You ready for an Earth makeover?"

The predatory light in Eva's eyes made him a bit nervous.

A black shirt with scruffy, torn-off sleeves, faded jeans with tears in them, large clumsy boots with the laces untied and bangles galore on his wrists; that was how he was dressed when they left the store. Was it fashionable? He wasn't certain but he sure did feel exposed in such clothes. He wondered what Canaan would think...

Eva bought him some hair doodads to tie his ponytail up with which he was grateful for.

"—so there's this band called  _Deep Murk_  who have a new album out and I want some decals for my rocket seat—" she was saying about some Earth music when panicked screaming interrupted them.

With some indignant yelps the crowds around them parted to reveal Jordan running in their direction being followed by a security guard.

"Stop, thief!" the guard shouted.

Jordan grabbed Eva's arm as he dashed by so Aikka automatically followed them both. They were obviously in some sort of trouble.

"What did you do??" Eva demanded as the ran.

Jordan, panting, struggled to speak. "There was an incident! I may have stolen some clothes!"

Eva glanced over at the new clothes Jordan was wearing and even Aikka could notice the tags sticking out.

" _What!?"_

"I forgot I had no money!"

"Why did you run!?" Eva cried. "Why didn't you just  _not_  run??"

"I panicked, okay!!" Jordan wailed as they ran.

Aikka followed Eva blindly as they ran through the shocked crowds with a security guard chasing after and screaming at them. She led them around the mall in no particular direction until they came to a halt at the lift area. Eva jammed on the call button desperately with Jordan panic-jogging on the spot. The lift arrived just as the guard reached them, the doors closing behind them cutting off the man's angry shout. Eva ran her hand down the entire control panel, selecting all the floors before they all collapsed.

They took a moment in the lift to catch their breath.

"Did we—did we break the law?" Aikka asked worriedly.

"Lil' bit," Jordan chuckled nervously.

"If they catch us and the police come to our house  _again_ ," Eva stressed, "Jordan, Dad will murder you. Actually put you in the ground. You thought all those times before Japan were bad, just you wait."

Jordan swallowed and pulled on his (new) shirt collar.

"Ahaha..." Aikka couldn't stop laughter from bubbling up from his chest. "Ahahaha!"

Eva and Jordan eyed eathother then looked at him as if he'd lost his mind and he couldn't blame them. He couldn't stop laughing. And then they broke out into smiles themselves and began laughing too. It was infectious.

He wiped a tear from his eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just so… fun," he breathed.

"Yeah, it is..." Eva grinned.

"I've never done anything like this before," he admitted. "I feel so…  _rebellious_."

Eva straightened up having regained her breath now. "If you wanted to rebel and smash the rules you've made the right friends!"

All three of them grinned at eachother in camaraderie when the lift suddenly jolted.

"Ah, crap!" Jordan cursed. "I really shouldn't keep doing this but I want to live so," he put his arms around them and teleported them away just as the lift doors opened and a pair of security guards rushed in, baffled with their sudden disappearance.

Jordan landed them in the deserted back street they had met in near the embassy. The teleportation brought with it an uncomfortable, heavy feeling in his stomach as Aikka stumbled to his feet.

Eva jumped to her feet. "So how'd'ya like Earth?"

"It's fun," he genuinely replied. Though that could also be because of her and Jordan's company. "I'd like to do this again some time."

"No probs! I have school during the week but I can make time on holidays and weekends," Eva said.

"I, too, will be busy tutoring with Master and other embassy business, but I will make time."

Jordan looked down awkwardly. "Got… Oban duties I guess. I can do stuff too though."

They all had their different, separate lives but they were close. It was the closest they had all been together since Alwas and Oban. Aikka hoped he could visit Eva's home again, next time for a leisurely visit. With a casual goodbye—because they could afford to be casual now—they all went home. Him back to the embassy, Eva back to her house and Jordan back to Oban.

* * *

 

Perfect timing.

It began raining just as Eva entered the house and took her shoes off in favour of slippers. She was greeted with dismayed shouting coming from her dad's office.

"Don't come near me, you're filthy and you stink! Rick, no—I said— _disgusting!!_ "

Don's voice got higher with distress followed by Rick's bellowing laugh. The ex-pilot then walked out into the hall covered in garden filth and when he noticed Eva his grin got even wider.

"Little mouse doesn't mind gettin' a bit dirty, does she?" Rick clapped her cheeks gently with his dirty hands leaving marks on her face and leaned down to bop their heads.

Eva laughed happily. Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Earth, Aikka! Eva has bad taste in culture!
> 
> I feel like I should mention how Jordan's teleporting works. There are limits to it: he can only teleport to places he's been before and the only person he can teleport to is Eva. So if Eva is in a place Jordan has never been to he can teleport to her and that place becomes a 'known area' he could teleport to again. He has a special fixation on the Wei kitchen because that's where he reunited with Eva.
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/zhampip)


	23. Valentine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's August. Perfect timing for a Valentines chapter.

It was the day before Valentine's and the world had once again fallen in love with the holiday and Eva's school had not been an exception much to her annoyance—it was definitely not a holiday that she had any interest in. Eva flipped through channels on TV that night.

"Scientists from multiple planets have detected the appearance of a new planet on the outer reaches of the Milky Way. Our galaxy continues to expand at a great pace. What appears to be a gas giant is unlikely to support new life but may be resource heavy in—"

Eva got her phone out in favour of paying attention to the news. Scrolling through contacts she found who she was looking for and the person on the other end picked up quickly.

"Congrats on the new baby!" Eva cheered. "Is it a boy or girl?"

"Huh, wha'? What're you talking about?" Jordan replied.

"The news just said you made a new planet!"

"Oh, you mean Big Yellow! Yeah, not my best work but in my defence it was in incubation since Satis. My first planet is gonna be so cool, just you wait!"

She laughed. "I can't wait to see it. You'll have to show me around it when it's ready."

"Of course, yeah!" Jordan answered enthusiastically.

There was a brief comfortable silence between them.

"The news said the galaxy is growing real quick," Eva said.

"Yeah, well… not really, actually," Jordan sounded at bit embarrassed now. "I'm pretty slow at this actually. Still a newbie an' all that. Ten-thousand years isn't even that long on a space scale—I've gotta do as much as I can in that time!"

He wasn't sure how long it would take to create a new planet in the womb of Oban. Jordan had told her he'd take her to visit his planet but on the timescale that he now spoke on she suspected she'd probably be long dead by the time it was ready.

For once she was glad their phone service didn't have visuals as she smiled sadly at the thought.  
  


* * *

 

They spoke for a little longer then Jordan hung up and gazed out over the vast grasslands of Oban. He knew that Valentine's Day was tomorrow and he remembered that he owed Eva a better date. Or… a date at all. Actually. But they weren't dating! Not really! They were…  _something_. There was something, but also nothing.

His face scrunched up in thought when a blue glow was cast over him.

"Not now, Glowy! I'm trying to be confused!"

"You're thinking of that human again," the echo-y voice stated.

"Eva. And yeah."

"You're going to Earth again."

He turned his head to the Creator, but not far enough to actually see it. "You gonna try and stop me?"

There was a pause and Jordan could swear he could hear gears turning in the being's mind—if that were actually possible. He still wasn't sure just how sapient the Creators actually were.

"You have tended to Oban and birthed a planet—"

"Really gotta phrase it like that?"

"—we think you need a session of  _'human contact'_  as you explained it?"

Jordan spun around with hope in his eyes. They were beginning to understand!? He didn't waste any time getting ready to spend more time back on Earth.

"Thanks, Glowy!" he took what passed as the beings' hand in gratitude. "Don't tell Fuzzybutt, but you're my favourite!"

And with a now well-practised flash of light he was back on Earth in an instant and in his bedroom at the Wei house. Looking out of the window it appeared to be late at night now, and the home was dead quiet so he figured everyone was asleep. That was okay, he could see Eva again in the morning.

With a happy sigh he fell on his bed and dropped off to sleep as well.

He woke up again. Early. Too early; he peeled his eyes open and rolled off the bed. He'd not changed clothes when he'd slept and now he felt like all kinds of gross. By now it had become comfortable living in this house (it felt more like home than Oban ever would) so he shuffled out of his room towards the bathroom. What he wouldn't give for human-styled toilet facilities back on Oban, but getting a plumber to the centre of their galaxy was unlikely to happen.

Scratching his stomach and with a yawn he shoved the bathroom door open.

"Whoa, buddy! Occupied!" Rick shouted.

"Yipes!" Jordan squeaked, all traces of sleep leaving him but he was too shocked to move.

Rick met his eyes for a long moment. "Are you gonna leave or what?"

"Guys… what's goin' on?" Eva blearily shuffled out from her room, her pyjamas all ruffled. "… woke me up."

"E, no! Avert your eyes! Rick's indecent!"

"Huh, what? Jordan, get off!"

Jordan covered Eva's eyes before she could see anything.

"What's all the commotion, I didn't think any of you got up this early," Don was next to come investigate, already fully dressed. "Oh. You should lock the door."

"Shut—ugh. I didn't expect Jordan to be here," Rick grumbled.

"None of us do," Don glared and Jordan furrowed his brows in response.

He groaned. "Okay, my bad. Next time i'll announce myself or something."

"Jordan," Eva said dangerously. "Let go of me now."

"Oops, sorry," he stopped covering her eyes and she blinked into the light.

"Man, I was expecting much worse from the way you reacted," Eva said flatly now that she could actually see the situation. Rick sighed.

"Can you guys not have this conversation in the doorway?" he pleaded.

"Alright, everyone get out and wait your turn," Don mercifully directed Jordan and Eva out of the bathroom. "Rick needs to put his face on first."

Rick groaned. "This sorta thing wouldn't happen if you'd let me use your en suite."

"Ha, ha, no," Don said dryly and shut the door on him. "And you; next time knock first. Where you born in a barn?"

"No, sir," Jordan's shoulders sagged.

Eva snickered. "Well i'm awake so guess it's gonna be an early morning for me. Don't use all the hot water, Rick! You can go last, Jordan."

"Yes'm," he whimpered.

What a terrific and not-at-all humiliating start to this Valentine's Day.  
  


* * *

 

Rick had a pretty good sense of humour about being walked in on during his morning beauty routine which helped lift some of the embarrassment from Jordan's shoulders. Not that anything could ever dampen his appetite in the morning; both him and Eva shovelled food into their mouths like pigs.

The topic of conversation continued to centre around the incident though.

"You have so much stuff in the bathroom now," Eva pointed out.

No one had mentioned it but Rick was taking better care of himself now, sleeping better, staying on top of his prescription and overall just seemed more healthy. That involved moving a bunch of his stuff into the house and getting more comfortable.

"Well, yeah. You don't get this kinda perfection without a lotta hard work," Rick's ego shone through as he indicated himself.

"Can I try some?" Eva asked. "That conditioner looks so good. Dye always makes my hair like straw..."

"Sure thing, lil' mouse. It's henna and herbal extract—"

Jordan's brain evacuated his head as the pair got into a deep conversation about hair and body care products and tattoo upkeep.

"—this bathbomb smells like mango and has—"

When he looked at all the products shared between Rick and Eva in the bathroom it made Jordan's head spin. What was wrong with a simple old sponge?

"What's wrong with just hot water?"

When Don asked that both Eva and Rick gave him a bland look before they launched into a passionate rant and Don sat there looking like he was being attacked by wild dogs. Jordan was just relieved he hadn't opened his mouth with the same thought.

"—the back side is rough so you can use it to exfoliate—"

"This is too much," Don got up and left the room, and although Jordan was just as disinterested in the topic, he stayed seated taking mental note of everything Eva said she liked.

"So anyway, what do I get your dad for Valentines?" Rick abruptly asked now that the coast was clear.

Eva groaned. "I dunno, Valentines sucks, I don't care."

Rick chuckled but Jordan frowned.

" _But_  in theory, if you  _did_  like it..." he fished for a useful response.

"Nope." But Eva wasn't having it; she shook her head. "I'd rather be Rush's personal groomer than do any Valentine stuff."

He could practically feel the enthusiasm drain from him with the comment as they finished breakfast and thought about future plans. Jordan planned to spend the day in the city hunting down the perfect gift for Eva despite her lack of interest in the holiday and his money troubles.

Soon Eva was getting ready for school and distractedly texting her friends as she did so, and Don came back into the room.

"I'll come pick you up tonight so be ready by 7pm," he told Rick, referring to their date.

Rick grinned. "What're we doing?"

"I have it sorted, don't worry," Don dodged the question.

"Just so you know; I can't dance," Rick said as a word of warning.

And Don huffed. "No one can, it's so disappointing. Eva! Are you ready?"

"I can't find my physics book!" Eva shouted back from across the house. "I think Clark ate my homework!"

"I'm not falling for that again!" Don went off to help her search.

Mornings were always so interesting when the whole household gathered in the kitchen. It reminded Jordan of his own rowdy family; he smiled sadly at the thought. Eva left for school leaving him and Rick alone together as had become the norm. Rick spent a lot more time at the house now—not that he didn't already spend a lot of time there already—which made Jordan's frequent visits less lonely during the day.

"So what kinda gift are you gettin' Eva?" Rick asked out of the blue.

Jordan stammered. "Wh-wh-whaaat? Why would you think i'm gettin' her s-something?"

Rick just shook his head with a wry smile. "Ya ain't subtle, kid."

And he wanted to retort that Rick hadn't been subtle about his relationship either… but Jordan's oblivious ass hadn't actually noticed before Eva had brought it to his attention, so he couldn't rightly bring it up. Dang it.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"You gotta be careful with Don. If he finds out he'll have you deported and banned from Earth or something."

"Uh, well," Jordan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "He already knows..."

Rick's eyebrows rose above his shades. "Really now?"

"There was—uh—an incident on Oban and—uhh—yeah, so, nevermind! Anyway!" he laughed self-consciously. "Why is it so hard to shop for girls!"

Jordan could tell that the retired pilot was curious to know what had happened after he'd left Alwas but Rick was a reasonable man so he dropped it.

"You know Eva pretty well, i'm sure you'll find something. You wanna come into town with me? I need some practise drivin' again anyway."

With Eva at school and Don at work they had the house to themselves and no particular responsibilities. Jordan had very little money to spend on public transport getting around the city and it would probably be nice to spend some time with Rick. It wasn't like the man had become his idol or anything, but he respected Rick a lot.

So he accepted.  
  


* * *

 

Eva didn't like Valentines Day, that was okay, Jordan didn't mind. That just meant that they would do something quiet at home. This wouldn't be a formal date, and he still didn't know how Eva really felt about him anyway. She treated him as a close friend at best.

But he remembered what he had said to her, in Japan, after the Grand Prix, even though he was hella drunk at the time. It was the  _only_  thing he remembered from being that drunk. And he would keep his word. After they were done shopping Rick dropped him off at the Wei house then went back to his own home for the rest of the day. Jordan had found the perfect gift for Eva so he rushed up to his room to hide it until she returned from school. He passed the time by grinding Eva's character up a few more levels in the game she was playing online.

Eva's return from school followed their usual routine only this time Jordan felt a simmering nervousness in his stomach. He wanted to make this a great evening for his friend even If it wasn't an official (or acknowledged) date, but first he had to wait for Don to get out of the house to which he could always rely on the man to act on plans promptly.

Don couldn't leave without some teasing from his daughter and then Jordan sprung into action. He broke out the snacks and treats he'd bought when out with Rick—all Eva's favourites that he knew of—and the evening was away!

It would just be something fun and relaxing.

They rented an incredibly non-romantic action flick which ate up some time, then Jordan provided some assistance to Eva as she built some strange new contraption in the garage—she was modifying a Roomba into some sort of remote-controlled unholy robotic abomination. Just to see if she could.

After his incredibly important and helpful role of holding the tools and passing her the appropriate implements when prompted he somehow managed to become the dirtier of the pair and he wouldn't allow his new, ill-gotten clothes to be ruined.

"We could be playing a game but you're doing laundry instead," Eva complained and sometimes Jordan forgot his friend was fifteen years-old.

He tossed his dirty washing into the washing machine. "You wanna chuck your stuff in too?"

"Dad does mine."

"Oh, yeah..." Jordan really did have to fend for himself in this house.

As he fiddled with the dials on the machine Eva leered at his homemaking skills and he knew a smartass comment was coming from that look alone. "You're gonna make someone a great husband one day."

He drew in a sharp breath feeling his ears positively burn. ' _I will! You'll find out one day! ...hopefully_ _'_ _._

"Why d'you look so proud?" Eva laughed at the dumb expression that had come over his face.

"I'm just happy i've got some extra clothes now, y'know?"

"I am too, you were getting real gross. Where you seriously going back to Oban just to clean your clothes in private? That's dumb, Jordan."

Yes. Yes, that was a thing he was doing. But he still had little money to buy anything and it was  _still_  impossible for a 'dead' person to get a job! People needed to give him a break!

Now he leered back at his friend. "You wanna walk in on me in the bathroom like I did Rick or something?"

Eva's face flamed red and she shoved his shoulder. "No! Don't be weird!"

The mood between them was light as he smiled. Maybe now would be a good time to bring up the whole  _'It's Valentines Day'_  thing.

"W-what would you think if I got you something for—"

"I'd hope not. I don't want you wasting money you don't have and I don't have anything for you so," Eva shot him down, reading him like an open book, "it'd be really awkward."

There was a long pause. Jordan began visibly sweating.

"Ummmmm—haha, yeah, of course! I don't have any money anyway! Haha…. ha… ha..."

The awkward moment lasted for some time.  _Thanks for the loan, Rick, but…_  Jordan could almost feel as if the gift he'd got Eva was burning a hole through his bedroom floor and would fall at their feet any moment now and he'd have to make up some dumb excuse for why he'd have such a thing in the first place.

He decided to change the subject back.

"A-anyway! How 'bout I show you some real homemaking skills?"

Eva looked up at him with amused suspicion.

"Let's make a cake!" he suggested.

"Why? It's like 10pm."

He put his hands out as if imploring to her. "Why does anyone need an excuse for cake? Cake is the best! And it's the only other skill I have that's not shooting things!"

"Oh, so that's why," Eva laughed. "I'm not helping—i don't do cooking."

Understanding why, Jordan nodded his head. He hadn't heard every minute detail of Eva's past but he knew enough and certain specific details had been revealed to him, like how the home ec class at Stern had been possibly one of her least favourite subjects. The old-fashioned school pushed gender roles hard and Eva fought them the entire way—possibly just for the sake of rebellion or because she genuinely disliked cooking he wasn't sure and wouldn't ask—and it had left a lasting impression.

But he figured he was safe from her putting spice into  _his_  cake.

"Okay, you supervise and be the taste tester."

She gave him a thumbs-up. "Can do!"

Things didn't turn out as he expected… or, actually, yeah, things turned out  _exactly_  as he'd expected.

"I thought you said you had skills," Eva said as they both observed the mess that was now the kitchen.

It was as if the room had been ground zero under a food bomb. Jordan was very passionate about what he was doing but not very precise and the kitchen was ripe with a potent burning smell. They'd tried opening the window to get some air but bugs attracted by the light came in, so not only was there now flour and icing sugar and butter cream smeared around but the place was also infested with insects.

"I did, but I didn't say they were  _good_  skills."

Eva put her face in her hands.

"My gunmanship is:" he held his hand up to eye-level, "and my bakingmanship is:" he lowered his hand to his knees.

"My sympathy for you when Dad kills you is:" Eva put her hand as low as her ankles.

"So  _some_  sympathy! Thanks, partner! I'll take it." He looked around at the absolute state of the room. "I'll need it."

Eva just shook her head. "Let me help you clean up."

She almost walked face-first into the spoon Jordan held up to her. "Taste first," he said.

He couldn't blame the wary look she gave the so-called chocolate paste on the offered spoon. His previous two baking attempts had been, while not biohazards, less than stellar. But Eva couldn't resist his tactical, large puppydog eyes and relented.

"It's… not bad," she smiled weakly. "I think you've almost got it."

Just as she was about to run the bowl under the tap Jordan grabbed her shoulders. "Just one more time! I know I can do it this time! It's only..." he glanced at the clock, "12:30am? Wow."

"Yeah," Eva yawned which made Jordan yawn as well.

"We spent a lot of time on these two failures." He observed one cake that was an unrecognisable burnt husk and another that was a lopsided, gloopy, undercooked mess.

Eva followed his eyes then looked to him. Her smile was soft and encouraging. "Third times the charm they say? Maybe… if I help it'll turn out better?"

Jordan's grin threatened to split his face in two.

And with a mischievous grin Eva looked into the bowl of chocolate filling, adding; "so I either get a nice cake this time or I get to watch Dad swap all your organs with kitchen utensils. Maybe both. So whatever way it's a win for me!"

She really had a knack for ruining a moment. Jordan slouched.

And It really wasn't as dramatic as Eva always put; he usually just got shouted at with threats that were never followed through with. Like his own parents had been really, and he tried to keep his head down in the house anyway. His mother always taught him to be a good house guest after all.

Either way he pouted. "Let's hope for the nice cake result, huh?"

Eva pinched her nose. "But I really can't take this smell, we gotta open the window again."

"You like bugs that much?" he smiled as Eva's voice turned nasally as she spoke.

With a disgusted glance at him she ran over to turn the lights off and opened the window again. It did provide a pleasant relief from the stench and they set to work on the third and hopefully first successful cake.

Cooking in the dark felt oddly intimate; the only light in the room the natural light from the moon and the artificial light from the oven. Following instructions should've been easy but Jordan wasn't accustomed to making anything more complex than military approved rations and Eva had deliberately avoided every opportunity to cook so their result was fairly predictable.

"It's a mess," Jordan observed.

"It's our mess," Eva smiled.

Jordan raised a sceptical eyebrow but didn't argue. In the darkness of the room the cool light from the moon washed over one side of Eva's face and the warm light from the oven basked the other—the combination almost stole Jordan's breath; she was beautiful. Amazing, supportive, talented, brave and beautiful… he was so lucky to have Eva in his life.

He must've been staring for too long as a subtle blush dusted her cheeks when she turned to him with a questioning look. He smiled softly.

"You have a bit of..."

Gently he brushed his thumb across her cheek, catching a smear of chocolate cake mix. When he brought his thumb to his mouth Eva's eyes widened and he noticed they couldn't take their eyes off eachother—just staring. He could feel his face heat up in the way that brought out his freckles that made him self-conscious.

"Eva—Molly, I..."

"Jordan...i—i want to..." Eva broke eye contact, instead now staring intently at his chest as she closed the distance between them and his heart skipped a beat.

Was this happening? Finally? On Valentines Day? The most perfect day of the year for a confession. He was excited but he had to give her time, let her think, speak!

"I..." her eyes met his. He could see something in those ruby depths, uncertainty perhaps. Insecurity. As if she'd had a change of heart and he wanted nothing more than to reach out with reassurement. "I want to eat the cake, Jordan. I don't care if it kills us."

The extent to which Jordan deflated could not be understated.

"What the  _hell_  happened in here!?"

And then he jerked back as if he'd been electrocuted.

Don had returned and was stood in the doorway aghast at the state of his kitchen.

The one-two double whammy emotional whiplash from the Weis hit Jordan hard, from hope to depression to fear all within a short five second window. First his heart was broken then it was jumping out of his chest—he almost had to sit down.

Eva shoved him out of the way to present the wreak that was their cake to her dad. "We made a cake!" she explained with a lopsided grin like she was proud of what they'd made but also fully aware that it was terrible.

"Hmmm..." Don eyed the so-called cake like he thought it might develop legs and crawl across the floor towards him. Then something clicked. "You made it?" he asked.

Now Eva grabbed Jordan and pulled him over. "Me and Jordan."

"I did the bad bits, i'm sure," Jordan said to reassure his friend.

"It's not bad, it just needs a few alterations with the creation process," Don said tactfully, then decided to risk a venture. "If you'd like, we can try making another one. Together."

"Me too?" Jordan asked inquisitively.

Don gave him a look of death so he averted his eyes to the ceiling to mind his own business.

"Maybe later," Eva answered with a smile in her eyes.

The man smiled in return and his gaze swept the entire kitchen and he slowly blinked. "Tidy it up in the morning," he simply said and walked off upstairs.

Eva and Jordan glanced at eachother, surprised with the leniency. He hadn't even told Eva to go to bed.

"Creepy," Jordan said.

It had been an interesting Valentines. Had this been a date? Not really? But it had been a nice time, so maybe he had kept his word after all and Eva seemed content—he would treasure every moment they spent together always. While he might have been a giant sap when it came to romance he respected Eva's boundaries and maybe with more time they would...

"Uh, so, you wanna eat the cake?" he turned around.

"Muh?"

Eva looked up at him, already deep into the cake.

Jordan gasped. "H-hey! C'mon, share! Don't eat it all!"

"My mouth burns..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “i'm going to call our cake Steve”  
> “stfu, Jordan”
> 
> I've written a WHOLE ASS OTHER bonus chapter with some saucy Rickdon after their off-screen date in this chapter, and i'm not posting it publicly because I am embarrassed LMAO. It would bump the rating up too and i'm not okay with that.
> 
> … if you've been commenting on the fic (I'm too ashamed to give it to strangers sorryyyy) i'll give you the link to it *eyes emoji*


	24. Truce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a particularly OC-heavy chapter, apologies in advance. I'll write what the hell i want!

In the huge parkland area of the city that doubled as a showground the Earth Star-Racing Association were holding their annual open day, and unlike the exhibition conference (which was only for professionals) this event was open to the paying public. That meant that Jordan, Aikka and Rick were allowed to attend.

"This is wonderful," Aikka awed at the various star-racers on display. "I'm enjoying learning more about your style of racing. Which one is your vehicle?"

"You mean the  _Shrike_? It's not here. Dad won't put it up for display."

" _Absolutely not. I'm not allowing some random child to put their sticky paws all over my star-racer."_

Jordan chortled at Eva's impression.

In its continued effort to encourage interest in the sport, the ES-RA promoted a family friendly atmosphere with rides, lectures, hands-on experiences and various activities aimed at all ages. Unfortunately this also meant that the event was lousy with Arnaldos.

"Geeze, Eva Wei, bring more family," Arnaldo Jr. Jr. sarcastically greeted her.

Eva rolled her eyes. "Will you stop calling me by my full name? It's weird."

"You've never come to these open days before and now there's  _five_  of you," he pointed out.

"Yeah, well, sometimes things just turn out like that," Eva wasn't going to explain her family situation to this idiot. She noticed Arnaldo Jr. Jr. was putting up a front of bravado because, once again, his father had abandoned him in the care of his nanny.

Unable to take a hint, the boy continued to follow them around as they found their way back to Rick and Don with all the free stuff they'd acquired from various booths.

"Thinking maybe I could go into race commentary," Rick was saying thoughtfully. "Being a pundit might suit me?"

"You do have a lot of knowledge and a charismatic personality," Don said.

"Was that a compliment?"

"What do you think?"

Eva rocked up to them. "Look at all this free stuff we got!"

"So many pens..." Jordan looked in his bag.

"And this squishy ball?" Aikka held up a stress ball with a star-racing stable's logo on it.

None of them acknowledged Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s presence as he lurked near them. Not until a woman bustled over to him, flustered and making a bit of a scene. She noticed their group and herded the boy closer.

"Good morning, Mr Wei," she greeted. "We met at the sport's day?"

"Yes, I remember," Don replied and the woman clasped her hands together. She looked rather frazzled. "You're the boy's nanny."

"Yes! How wonderful that the children are getting along!"

No comment. None of them could believe a person could be so blind.

"I apologise for my brusque behaviour but an emergency has come up that requires my immediate attention. You're friends with Eva, aren't you," the nanny said to Arnaldo Jr. Jr..

"No," Eva interrupted quickly.

The woman held her chin with befuddlement and looked at Eva. "He speaks of you all the time like a friend..."

"Shut up, Anna!" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. began turning red.

"I'll only be a few hours. You'll be fine staying with Eva for a little while, won't you?"

"No!" Eva, Arnaldo Jr. Jr. and Don all said simultaneously.

The nanny was taken aback by the response. "My sister's in a very serious condition, I have to go to the hospital  _now_ ," she pleaded with her young charge and Eva rubbed her face. The woman was very soft-spoken but clearly desperate.

"How serious is it?" she asked, already resigned to her fate.

The woman looked down to Eva with a light of cautious hope in her eyes. "She was in a bad car crash and she's still recovering from a previous operation too..."

Eva sighed. "He can stay with us."

"Uh—?" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. stuttered.

Anna smiled with relief and looked to Don. "Is this okay, Mr Wei?"

"I don't care about your—" he started but Eva gave him a stern look, "—fine, if you must leave, we'll keep an eye on the boy."

And with that Arnaldo Jr. Jr. joined their group.  _Temporarily_. He clung to Eva like a limpet to a rock. Jordan and Aikka restrained themselves from making snippy comments and Rick and Don virtually ignored him. They ate and checked out some more booths, and whilst the adults took a break the teens signed-up for a 'capture the flag' game that would begin soon.

Each team that participated had to have three members so it was perfect for them.

"But what will I do?" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. whined.

"You could go sit it out with Dad and Rick?" Eva suggested, though it was clearly more of an order.

"I want to play!"

The boys shook their heads. "No, we want to actually have fun," Jordan said. He knew enough about Jr. Jr. to dislike the boy, and though Aikka was still new to Earth the boy's xenophobic comments had not endeared him to the Nourasian.

"If you don't let me play i'll call my Grandpa and you'll be dis—"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll be disqualified, I get it," Eva rolled her eyes. "Is that the only threat you have to fall back on?"

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. scowled. He made his hands into fists and dragged Eva aside.

"I'll tell my Grandpa a-about your f-friend…!" he whisper-shouted, his eyes darting briefly over to Jordan.

Eva froze.

Oh, he'd seen. He knew. Arnaldo Jr. Jr. knew about Jordan.

"What do you know!?" she hissed.

"I saw him disappear i-in that light!" the boy's eyes were wobbling as he spoke like he was fighting back tears. It only made Eva feel more angry. "If you don't do what I want i'll tell my Grandpa and the p-police!"

She took a threatening step forward. "You can't tell anyone! It's dangerous!"

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. matched her movement, though with less confidence. "If you let me play with you I won't tell anyone."

Their eyes met in a long stand-off. Was that all he really wanted? Or was he gleeful that he had something to hold over her and control her with. For all their sakes she couldn't refuse him.

"Dad..." Eva slouched over to the two men. "Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s gonna join in too."

"What??" Don's surprise was understandable. Normally she'd do anything to avoid the boy. What a disappointment the day was turning out to be.

"No!" Jordan cried. "Now there's four of us!"

Aikka nodded. "Too many for one team. Will one of us have to sit it out instead?"

"I don't want that," Eva grumbled, already feeling guilty for forcing Arnaldo Jr. Jr. on their group. "If someone has to sit out i'll volunteer."

"Eva!" Both Jordan and Aikka cried.

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. pouted. "I want to stay with Eva so if she sits out I will too!"

"Ugh! But—" Eva growled. "You're the worst."

Jordan threw his arms up with exasperation. "But then there'll only be two of us!"

"Then not enough for a team," Aikka summarised.

They all stood around in a circle in a strange sort of confrontation over the boy who was Eva's bully and who had crashed their pleasant day out. It didn't matter what they decided because Arnaldo Jr. Jr. would ruin their plans.

"How about," Rick spoke up. He glanced to Don then back to them, "me an' Don join in and we can make two teams? That way you all get to play and it might even be fun to compete?"

"Really?" Eva's eyes lit up.

"I suppose I did agree to watch the boy," Don begrudgingly said.

It wasn't the perfect solution but nothing would ever be perfect with Arnaldo Jr. Jr. around and she'd still have to spend time with the boy, but at least she'd get to participate.  _'Ruin this, asshole,'_  she thought.

Rick put his hands on his hips. "Then i'll take the boys. You kids ready to be part of the legendary Team Thunderbolt?"

Jordan and Aikka glanced at Eva and when she smiled her acceptance of the situation they turned and nodded to Rick.

"Ready to rock!" Jordan gave a thumbs-up.

"Thank you for having me," Aikka inclined his head.

With that sorted, Rick brushed his hands.

"I don't think we've been on opposing teams before," he pointed out. "You ready to lose?"

"I've not lost a competition before and I don't intend to start now," Don replied.

"Apart from Mario Kart?"

Don stammered. "That stupid game doesn't count!"

Rick laughed and Jordan slid over to Eva.

"I feel like they're taking this more serious then we are..." he said behind his hand and she snorted.

"Don't argue about this with me, old man. I'll break you in two," Rick went on.

"Maybe later," Don replied flippantly.

Jordan squeaked in the background and Eva hid her face.

"Okay, well, uh," Rick faltered, a faint blush to his cheeks, "game on! Let's go!"

"Can someone explain the rules to me?" Aikka asked as Team Thunderbolt dashed off. Jordan facepalmed.

"We're gonna own you, E!" he shouted.

"In your dreams, loser!" Eva called back and when they were out of sight she folded her arms with a grimace and sent the boy stood near them a death glare. "Arnaldos ruin everything."

"They really do," Don concurred.  
  


* * *

 

The objective of the game was to be the first team to capture the flag on a hill within half an hour whilst also avoiding traps and being tagged out by other players. Rules were not strictly enforced so it ran on an honour system.

Eva and Arnaldo Jr. Jr. could not co-operate.

They each had a different idea of how to get to the flag and clashed to the point that they quickly lost the first game.

On top of the hill Aikka held the flag proudly as Jordan danced a little jig beside him. Rick noticed the foul mood between the two youngest of their group; Eva and Arnaldo Jr. Jr. had theirs backs to eachother, both sulking.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

Don just shook his head. "It was a mess."

"Hey, E!" Jordan taunted. "Best of three? Loser has to buy lunch!"

Eva glared with determination. "You're on!"

"Do you think that's a wise choice considering—" Aikka glanced at the young Arnaldo.

"Aikka!" Jordan hissed. "Don't ruin this with your sense of honour! We can win it!"

So the second match began much the same as the first had; with Eva and Arnaldo Jr. Jr. arguing and unable to work together in any capacity. They took a different route around the arena and eventually came across a hut with an old fashioned water pump that was probably used for scout camp activities. Don took the opportunity to rest as Eva and Arnaldo Jr. Jr. scouted the area.

The boy found a suspicious, nondescript box. "Hey, maybe this has something good in it."

"Don't touch it!" Don warned.

But Arnaldo Jr. Jr. didn't listen. Eva rushed over to him to try and stop him just before his hand made contact with the obvious trap. It expelled blue paint all over the pair.

"What did I  _just_  say!?"

"Ugh!" Eva began spitting blue. "It's in my mouth!  _Ugh_ , tastes horrible."

"Eva, use this," Don quickly handed over a bottle of water from the bag he carried then turned on the other teen. "And you; have some restraint!"

Gratefully Eva took the bottle and washed her mouth out,  _blehh_. She thought her dad might go off on the boy now that he had an excuse to, but it probably wasn't the correct time or place. The animosity between herself and Arnaldo Jr. Jr. was enough already.

"Now you both stick out like a sore thumb," Don said and Arnaldo Jr. Jr. glared. "Go and wash off as best you can before you're caught."

The pair of teens sulked off to miserably wash their faces.

As they tried to use the old fashioned pump, Eva watched her temporary teammate. He'd been acting strangely ever since he'd seen Jordan do some 'Avatar Stuff' during the Grand Prix. She wasn't sure just how trustworthy this boy was—at other times he'd kept to his word, despite being a jerk about it, so...

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. sent her a sideways glance. "… you've piloted a star-racer before?"

"Yeah," Eva replied warily.

"When?"

"… earlier."

"Did your Dad make you?"

"No. Actually he tried to stop me."

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. sighed. "My Dad makes me. I don't want to be a pilot."

Shock was openly displayed on Eva's face when she looked at the boy. The Arnaldos where the most famous family in the sport! After all the bravado this boy had displayed now he revealed he didn't even want to pilot!?

"Do you like it?" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. was wringing his hands self-consciously.

"Yeah, it's awesome," she said honestly.

The boy moaned a little with unhappiness. "I think it's… scary."

"I guess it is," Eva murmured. "A bit."

"My Grandpa lost his legs and arms..." The President of the Race Association, Arnaldo Sr., had prosthetics. "And I don't want that to happen to me and..."

And Eva's mother had been killed.

"I guess, when you're racing," Eva put her face to the sky with her eyes closed, "when you're racing you're not thinking of any of that stuff. You're just in the moment, racing to win. It's an amazing feeling, I think anyway."

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. considered her words.

"Your Mom was very famous," he began and Eva wasn't sure if she wanted him talking about her mother. "That's why my Dad doesn't like your Dad."

"What do you mean?"

"Dad doesn't like to lose and Maya handed him a bunch of losses. She became the most famous pilot of the time before..." Arnaldo Jr. Jr. glanced at her, unsure if he should continue. It was a strange situation considering his previous attitude. "My Dad was happy 'it' happened."

Eva couldn't stop the growl rising from her throat before she took a moment. People always told her nothing but good things about her mother that she'd never stopped to think if Maya had ever made any enemies.

"Thunderbolt beat us a bunch too," Arnaldo Jr. Jr. continued. "But I actually think that's good, y'know?"

"It's good you're always losing?" Eva was confused.

The boy nodded. "I think if Dad can't ever win and meet the expectations of Grandpa then I might not have to race when i'm old enough because our family reputation will be ruined. Or if i'm forced to I think there will be less pressure to win, y'know? Less expectations?"

Eva's mind was full of bewilderment. The very concept of  _wanting_  to lose was foreign to her.

"I want you to keep beating us."

Her eyed bugged out. "Did you hit your head again!?"

Subconsciously Arnaldo Jr. Jr.'s hand rose to rub his slightly bent nose and he scowled. "I'm serious! I think our family feud is dumb."

Despite being the one to instigate their unfriendly rivalry at school when she had, had no idea who he was. But now Eva was beginning to wonder just how few genuine friends this guy actually had.

"Uh, well, don't worry," she said with an uncomfortable reassuring tone. "We'll continue to kick your ass. Though you wanting it kinda takes a lot of fun out of it."

"Thanks… Eva Wei."

"But!" Eva said sharply. "Only if you stop firstname-surname-ing me."

A small smile broke out on the boy's face. "I think I can do that."

"Weirdo."

She couldn't doubt that this was a trick and that she might regret it later, but right now they were in a competition for free food and she was in it to win. They finished washing the paint off to the best of their abilities but her shirt was ruined.

"Anyway, that's enough loser talk!" Eva pumped her fists energetically. "I'm not losing to Jordan and Rick and Aikka so you better pull your weight and help me win this!"

The boy followed her with uncharacteristic obedience back around to the front of the hut.

"Dad!" Eva yelled. "Are you sleeping?"

Don opened his eyes. "No," he lied.

Eva waved her hands frantically. "How're we supposed to win if you're asleep and Arny wants to lose!?"

"He wants to what?"

"No, I want to win!" the boy argued. He looked more determined than at any other point that day.

"And I want Jordan to buy me takeaway! Food tastes better when it's free," and when you make your friend suffer for it. "It's best of three; if they win this we're screwed."

So the game continued.

The flag was in sight and the air between both teens had markedly improved. If they could finally work together they had a chance at winning considering the advantageous position they were already in. But like the previous match it could all go South quickly if they butted heads too harshly.

And Team Thunderbolt hadn't been spotted so far so they hadn't had to worry about getting tagged out. Eva was confident in her agility and quick-thinking but not so much in her actual speed or strength. All the boys were bigger than her so if it came down to a chase she'd have to be the first one moving.

"Wait..." Eva paused, carefully taking in their surroundings. "You hear something?"

"W-what?" Arnaldo Jr. Jr. glanced about worriedly.

She held up her hand to silence him and listened hard. There was a faint, barely-restrained giggling from nearby. "That giggle… I recognise that chicken-laugh! Jordan!"

"What the hell did you just say about my laugh!?" an offended Jordan popped up from his hiding spot.

But Eva was already making a break for the flag on the hilltop. "Hah! Knew it! Arny, quick!!"

Sadly for her Jordan was taller thus he had longer legs and could run faster; he soon passed her all the while cackling like mad poultry.

"Someone stop him! He's going to stupid himself to victory! Again!" Eva yelled as she chased him up the hill with Arnaldo Jr. Jr. and Aikka quickly joining the race. Rick and Don leisurely followed leaving the kids to their fun.

"I've got this!" someone yelled and with a sudden burst of energy sped by them all in a flash. "I'm  _not_  a loser!"

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. threw himself at Jordan's legs bringing them both down to the grassy ground with a thud and a cry of surprise. Eva was momentarily stunned and almost lost her footing—since when could her classmate move so quickly!?

"You're so weird, dude!" Eva shouted as she ran by. "But thanks for the assist!"

She just had to outrun Aikka now who she had a good lead on but he was quickly catching up. Curse her short legs! Hopefully she'd be getting taller in the future! Not that, that helped her now as she put her head down, breathing hard with the strain of the uphill run.

Yes! Aikka was mere metres away as she crested the hill, her arm outstretched and fingers grasped onto the goal.

"Victory!" she crowed with triumph, waving the flag about joyfully.

Her face flushed and covered in sweat she was out of breath and Aikka skidded to a halt next to her, leaning down on his knees, breathing hard.

"W-well done," he panted.

Jordan wiped his brow as he walked over with a confident strut because he was barely even out of breath. If he hadn't been tackled he'd have easily won. Apparently that military-trained stamina was still with him despite his ability to teleport everywhere now.

But Eva and Arnaldo Jr. Jr. had employed  _teamwork_.

"Good game, partner," Jordan said as him, Aikka and Eva all shared a fist bump of good sportsmanship.

Arnaldo Jr. Jr. joined in her celebrations. He had a great dirty grass stain all up the front of his expensive shirt but he looked happy. Eva looked smug as she held his arm and the flag up. "Now we're tied! One step closer to free pineapple pizza for everyone!"

"Puke," Jordan stuck his tongue out.

"I'm not sure I want to win anymore," Arnaldo Jr. Jr. muttered and shuffled away from Jordan.

Rick let them bask in their glory for a while before he took the flag from Eva and retied it to the post. "Okay, it's the tie-breaker match. Everyone back down to base!"

"I just got up here," Don complained, notably out of breath.

"It's good stamina-building," Rick smiled wryly.

"On Nourasia it's our culture to regard the elderly so they shouldn't experience physical exertion unless necessary."

Eva figured that was supposed to be a respectful comment, but...

Don was incensed and Rick cracked up over it. Aikka followed both adults back down the hill apologising profusely for his remark the entire time.

Still on the peak, Eva took notice of how Arnaldo Jr. Jr. was hiding behind her. He tried to make it look natural but it was obvious he was scared of Jordan. She wondered if she should tell anyone that he knew Jordan's secret? But he didn't  _really_  know about the Avatar, not exactly. Only that Jordan was somehow 'magic' and that it was a highly secret thing he couldn't tell anyone. Not that the average person would believe him but if it got back to the Earth Coalition...

She shook her head. Now wasn't the time. She had a game of capture the flag to win and some free pizza to eat!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pineapple pizza is good and I can't stop dunking on myself for it.
> 
> Holy shit, TELL ME WHAT KIND OF JOB RICK COULD GET I JUST DON'T KNOW. I've decided he's jobless until the end of the fic ffs


	25. A Pet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now my motivation to write........ has gone :')

 

"Eva!" Koji greeted her when she entered their hanger at Mustang Motors. "How was school?"

"Boring," she dropped her school bag with little care.

School wasn't stimulating enough despite the freedom she now had and she was always counting down the hours until she could go home. After school hours on certain days she would come to spend time and gain experience at Stan and Koji's star-racing stable, and today was one of those days.

She went into the workshop's toilets to change into her overalls.

Miguel wasn't initially pleased to have her around, not when he found out she was Don's daughter. Her dad had a ruthless reputation in the industry for pushing star-racers well passed their limits, and when they broke throwing money and resources at the situation to fix it. It was a strategy that worked considering their record but it didn't endear him to the vehicle enthusiasts.

And Miguel was exactly one of those enthusiasts. It was the first time Eva's surname had been a detriment to her.

But despite appearances Miguel was a reasonable man and he could recognise great talent a light-year away he told her. He'd taken the recommendations from Stan and Koji to heart and given Eva a chance and she had done nothing but impress him time and again.

"Maybe you can teach your old man to respect a beautiful vehicle when he sees one," Miguel would often say, but Eva wouldn't hold her breath on that.

She dusted off her hands as she came back into the workshop in her work overalls. "What're we working on today? You're not gonna put me in the engine bay again, are you? Just because i'm small."

Stan laughed. "Nah, you had last week off for, what was it?"

"Hockey," Koji answered.

"And we won by the way," Eva pointed smugly.

"You were at hockey so we just shoved Laura in as usual," Stan continued and the woman in question sighed humorously loudly from across the room.

"That's good then," Eva said, actually slightly disappointed.

Koji elbowed his friend and they shared a sly grin which made Eva suspicious.

"I think the 'project' is ready to be unveiled, huh?" he said and Stan's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Hey, Boss!" Stan shouted, his voice carrying loudly around the shed. "You think Eva's ready to see 'it' yet?"

"Hah!?" Miguel popped his head out from over a pile of junk. "Which it?"

"Our special baby," Stan clarified.

Miguel cackled. "Ahhh, yer, yer! Show the talented little sprog, lemme come down!"

"Careful, Boss!" Koji called up to the man who stood on top of the junk pile then jumped and landed with a thud on both feet. His athleticism was impressive for his age.

Without a care in the world the man led them into a separate locked, smaller and tidier workroom. Eva was surprised Miguel and his team was capable of such orderly organisation so whatever was in here must have been important.

Stan and Koji removed the tarp that was covering a large vehicle with an excited flourish.

Eva gasped, her breath stolen away by what she saw.

"Is this the  _Whizzing Arrow_?" she whispered.

Stan chuckled. Both him and Koji were grinning madly. "Not quite, though it's using the same design build. This is an aquatic star-racer."

"Aquatic?" Eva ran her hand along the hull of the craft. "Why?"

"Why?  _Why?_  Why not!" Miguel cackled.

Well, she couldn't argue with that. Why the hell not indeed. The crazy old coot had built a star-racer with guns for no reason other than because he could, so  _why not_  an aquatic version. Eva always felt inspired to create her own modifications after time with Miguel.

The vehicle looked very similar to her beautiful  _Whizzing Arrow._  The rotating turrets that had been Jordan's responsibility had been replaced with some sort of buoyancy contraption so Eva figured it could land and take off from water.

Her awe and love for the machine was obvious and though Miguel didn't understand why Stan and Koji were more than happy for her. With permission she climbed into the cockpit and sat in the chair—the same sort of chair that had been removed and replaced with her rocket-seat. A rush of nostalgia overcame her as she simply looked around with wonder. She couldn't pilot it with this seat, as before, because she was still too short, but simply sitting there was overwhelming.

She had to get out.

"It—she's beautiful," she said softy when she'd regained her composure.

"I'm glad someone appreciates my ingenuity," Miguel said with his raspy voice. "If ah'd known you'd like 'er this much i'd 'ave shown yer sooner!"

"She still needs work?"

"Eeyup! Think i'll put ya on special duty then. Yer pals still gotta work on our competition star-racer though."

Eva looked to Stan and Koji as if asking for permission and they both grinned in return. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around the both of them tightly and they laughed, outright happy for her.

So Eva became an honorary trainee mechanic with the  _Whizzing Spear_  team.

Miguel put her to work immediately. The main workroom had a large junk pile in the centre that probably should've been outside instead but everything seemed to revolve around it and Eva was repeatedly sent over to collect pieces from it. As she moved a piece of sheet metal a small, furry body rolled into the empty space.

It was a rat!

The rat looked very skinny and ill; it didn't even react when Eva moved some more pieces of junk from around it. When she looked carefully she could just about see it breathing, but only very slightly. Covering the animal again she covertly signalled for Stan and Koji to come over. They shrugged and obeyed.

"What is it?" Koji asked so Eva moved the sheet metal aside to reveal the hidden rat.

"Another one?" Stan asked with little emotion.

"This one looks bigger than the others. We must've missed it when we cleared the mother's nest before," Koji said. "We'll dispose of it, thanks for pointing it out, Eva."

"Huh?" she looked up sharply.

"Looks pretty sick to me," Stan observed. "Probably starving. There's not much food around here surprisingly."

Eva's eyes swept between the pair. Neither of them seemed to be feeling the same way as her. Neither of them had sympathy for the poor animal. "What's going to happen to it?"

"We won't make you deal with it, don't worry," Koji replied, misunderstanding her concern.

Stan turned up his nose and carefully picked the rat up with the very tip of its tail. Eva watched as the animal made some feeble attempt to escape but it truly seemed to lack the energy to defend itself properly.

"W-what're you gonna do with it?" she asked.

"Toss it, I guess?" Stan shrugged. "Laura dealt with the nest before."

Eva followed the man out of the workshop, the rat dangling from his fingertips, and across the length of the yard to the chainlink fence around the boundaries of Mustang Motors. Stan steadied himself and Eva, realising what he was going to do too late, cried out when he threw the rat into the scrub bushes on the other side of the fence.

"Whoa, what?" he spun around to Eva with a guilty expression.

"Why'd you do it like that!?" she demanded.

"I didn't even know you were following me!" he said as if that was an excuse.

The scowl that crossed Eva's face was more than reprimanding and Stan's shoulders went slack with defeat. He closed the distance between them and patted her shoulder with the gloved-hand that hadn't touched the rat.

"Sorry, Eva, but it couldn't stay in the workshop, and at least I didn't 'pull a Laura'," Eva didn't know what that meant but it was probably bad as Stan went one. "It'll probably be fine now it's outside, try not to worry about it. The  _Whizzing Spear_ needs all your attention."

And that was correct, Eva reluctantly thought as Stan began walking back towards the workshop. Maybe the poor rat  _would_  be better now that it was back in the wild… she glanced to the bushes one more time before hurrying off to catch up with Stan.

But the entire rest of her time in the workshop she couldn't stop thinking of the rat, laid broken and sick in the bushes. Her unusual lack of focus was easily picked up on by the team and commented on, but she couldn't get the worry out of her mind and frustratingly she was sent home early. It stung and she felt like a failure, apologising to Miguel on her way out, but her mind simply wouldn't forget the rat.

As she left she picked up a cardboard box.

The rat was still there in the scrub, laid on its side, breathing shallow breaths. What a miserable little thing. She couldn't leave it alone to die. Putting on her gloves she gently picked up the rat with some of it's surroundings for comfort and placed it in the box.

The days she went to Stan and Koji's workplace after school were the days she would use her rocket-seat to get around, so she wouldn't have to worry about her dad being home early. Rick, however, was another problem altogether. It was much more difficult to get anything passed Rick, but he was usually on her side so normally it didn't matter. She still didn't want to risk it with the rat though.

Carefully she placed the box in the baggage compartment behind her seat and secured it in place by stuffing her overalls around it. She'd make sure the journey back home was a slow and careful one.

As she arrived at the house she found Rick conveniently working in the garden so she could get her rocket-seat by him and into the garage with little problem. He was much more distracted these days anyway now that he was occupied with putting his life back together again. Since Don would be working late they'd be having takeaway which gave her plenty of time alone.

She parked her rocket-seat in the garage and smuggled the box out into her adjoined workroom. Success! The rat was in the house!

Carefully removing the lid she peered into the box, mindful of not letting too much light in. The skinny rat was laid on its side deathly still but breathing minutely; it looked seconds away from death. Making sure to be gentle, Eva ran her finger through the rat's matted fur sadly, a concerned frown on her face. She had to save it no matter what.

A small amount of Clark's dog food and a shallow bowl of water were put in the box and Eva sat for over an hour trying to get the animal to eat. It did eventually, but only a little. This was going to be a lot of hard work and she had school tomorrow before the weekend.

As she watched it gradually gain strength over time she looked at the albino splotch on its backside and stroked it.

"Don't worry, i'll protect you, Moo," she named it.  
  


* * *

 

A week later Eva sat at the large table in the drawing room with her art supplies spread all around, designing a logo for her new pet she'd print out and stick on the side of the box. Someone came into the neighbouring room.

"Why d'you look so weird?" she could hear Rick ask.

"There's a rat in the garage!" Don exclaimed and the pen fell from Eva's hand.

Oh, no! Moo had escaped! Eva knew for a fact that her dad would absolutely not let her keep the rat hence the subterfuge already under way, but maybe she could rely on Rick to take her side…?

"Gross," Rick said. "We should get a trap."

Probably not then.

"Is it still there?"

"It should be. I shut the door so it can't get into the house."

Somehow Moo had got out of Eva's workroom and into the garage. Eva got up and quietly followed both men as they went to investigate. Don moved the lawnmower which disturbed the rat's hiding place.

"Oh, that's a brute," Rick said with disgust.

There were loose pieces of dry dog food that had fallen out of a nearby bag with a corner chewed off, and the rat sat frozen with fear amongst it all. Eva kicked herself mentally for her carelessness. Of course when Rick moved the food bag the familiar sound summoned Clark into the garage.

"Whoa, girl," Rick picked up the small dog to keep her out of harms way.

"Put her down, see if she'll kill it," Don said.

Rick frowned with concern. "That rat's almost as big as she is!"

"You're exaggerating."

Despite having some reservations about the plan Rick put Clark back on the floor.

Clark circled the rat inquisitively and Eva, peeking around the doorframe from her workroom, held her breath. The rat watched every movement the dog made as Clark jumped back-and-forth dabbing at the vermin playfully and when she got a little too close the rat jumped up at her in self-defence. Clark yipped and immediately ran away in fear and Moo skittered deeper into the garage.

Don put his hands on his hips as the dog ran by and into Eva's workroom. "What a useless dog, I told you cats were better."

"Yeah, yeah," Rick rolled his eyes.

Eva breathed a sigh of relief. She scooped up the small dog who wasn't really a puppy anymore and hugged her gratefully. "Thanks for being a sweetie, Clark," she whispered.

"Guess it's gonna have to be a trap then," Rick said. "Or maybe it'll leave through the garage door if we leave it open."

"If it knows what's good for it, it will," Don agreed and opened the door that lead outside.

When she heard them coming back into the house Eva scrambled back into the drawing room and turned all her rat logos face down on the table.

"Eva, don't go in the garage for now, there's a rat in there," Don warned.

"O-oh, really?" she tried to sound surprised. "Do you not like rats, Rick?"

"Huh?" Rick blinked at the unexpected question and Eva hoped she hadn't made him suspicious. "No, they're filthy and annoying pests. You don't know how bad they are until you have to share a house with a bunch of 'em."

Ah, yeah, with Rick's rough upbringing he'd probably had enough experience with rats. As reliable as Rick usually was when it came to ganging up on her dad he definitely wouldn't be any help this time. Eva faked an understanding smile.

"We're going into town to get something to deal with this," Don said. "A rat in my house, what's this neighbourhood coming to..."

"A glue trap or a snap trap?" Rick asked.

"Whatever will work the quickest."

Rick tapped his chin. "Ma used to collect rats overnight in a greased bucket then drown 'em in the morning."

Don looked disgusted and Eva covered her mouth.

"We're not doing that," her dad flatly said.

"It's effective, that's all i'm sayin'," Rick shrugged. "While we're in town we can drop in the pet store an' see if that special dog food from Canada has got here yet."

"If you spoil that dog any more she's going to get as fat as that rat," Don said as he got the car keys. "Don't go in the garage," he reiterated to Eva.

Eva's eyes darted to her workroom door and back. "I won't."

She waited with her nerves on edge until Rick and her dad had left then she hurried into the garage to look for Moo. If she didn't find it by the time they got back either they'd kill it or she'd have to own up to keeping it and then they might kill it anyway.

"C'mon, Moo, come to big sister~" she cooed gently, trying to gain the animal's trust.

It had recovered from its injury so it was less docile now and less willing to allow her to handle it. Now it acted like a wild animal and this was the point Eva had originally said she'd release it but.

But Moo was her pet now.

The rat that she had saved from dying a slow, painful death and had nurtured and fed into the healthy beast it currently was. With the determination to save her pet she closed all the doors and chased Moo around the garage for some time with little success and growing annoyance. She was trying to  _help_ , to  _save its life_ , why was it being so  _difficult?_  Time and again it evaded her until her reassuring tone of voice turned to orders.

One last time she cornered the rat in the back of the garage. It was nervous and disobedient and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it as the frustration had truly set in.

"Moo, be a good girl and do what I say—" she stopped when a realisation hit. "God, I sound like Dad," she muttered and made a sudden lunge for the rat.

It ran before she landed in the pile of old, empty boxes throwing up a huge dust plume. With a heavy sigh she just laid there, face down in the mess feeling defeated. There wasn't time for failure, she had to recapture Moo  _now_. But she realised she couldn't do it alone and there were few people she could turn to. Her pampered school friends would be too disgusted to help and probably not much use anyway, and she couldn't take Jordan or Aikka away from their jobs for every petty reason. But there were two certain eternally reliable people in her life...  
  


* * *

 

"You took the rat!?" Stan shouted in disbelief over the phone.

Even though there was no one else in the house, Eva desperately motioned for the man to quiet down as she spoke over the video phone in the hallway.

"I couldn't just leave her to die!" Eva replied. "That's horrible."

"It is horrible but," Koji slid into view, "that's nature. It happens all the time."

"Well maybe I didn't want it to happen  _this_  time! If I can help someone then i'm gonna help them!"

"You're a good kid, Eva," Stan closed his eyes and sighed. "What do you need us to do?"

A huge smile broke out over Eva's face. "I need you to help me catch her. Dad and Rick already tried to kill her! I just want her to be okay… then i'll release her somewhere safe..."

Stan and Koji glanced at eachother.

"If you promise to release it, we'll help," Stan said sternly but with affection.

"I promise!" Eva nodded with conviction.

"Okay, okay. We'll be over ASAP."

Koji's glasses flashed sinisterly. "You'd make such a good dad."

"Dude,  _for the last time—_ " Stan blushed and the young man grinned with amusement before they hung up.

Eva stood guard in her workroom doorway that led into the garage as she waited for Stan and Koji to arrive. All the previous action had surely stressed the poor animal out so she threw some dried dog food around as an apology but Moo didn't emerge from her hiding place.

The two mechanics arrived fairly quickly.

"What've you got?" Eva asked curiously when they pulled up in their car and unloaded a box-shaped thing hidden under a cloth.

"Its a cage," Koji answered.

"A humane cage," Stan rushed to reassure the girl. He smiled when he noticed her relax.

"Thanks for coming," Eva bowed her head with gratitude.

"Are we gonna get in trouble with your dads if they find out?" Koji asked.

"They won't find out," Eva shook her head, not quite catching that she'd accepted Rick as her dad just then.

"Hmmm, what's our reward for helping?" Stan teased.

Tapping a finger to her lips Eva thought about it for a moment. "The satisfaction of saving a life."

Stan burst out laughing in response and Eva smiled.

"And i'll make you a drink after," she added.

"You drive a hard bargain but we'll take it," Stan winked and all three shook hands on the deal. "Life's never boring with you around, Eva."

The three of them chased the poor, stressed animal around the garage fruitlessly for a while before they stopped to devise a plan. They arranged all the boxes and implements in the garage into a walled pathway that got narrower the further in and culminated in the cage at the end. Eva put some extra food treats in the cage as a reward and then they worked on herding Moo down the makeshift alleyway.

"It's quite cute actually," Koji observed as all three of them watched Moo shuffle about in the cage.

"And fat. The hell ya been feeding it?" Stan asked.

"Dog food and dinner leftovers. She loves noodles and cabbage," Eva put her finger on the mesh of the cage, smiling when Moo sniffed her. She  _was_  a little overweight now. "Maybe I went a bit overboard."

"Maybe just a bit," Stan agreed with good humour. "Better get 'er outside then, this took way longer than expected."

"Careful with her," Eva worried.

"I know, I know," Stan chanted.

He walked straight into a wall that was in the doorway. Stumbling back he fumbled with the cage so Eva and Koji rushed to help secure it. Once safe they all drew their gazes upwards and the wall was revealed to be Rick blocking the entire doorway.

"Whoopsy-daisy," Stan chuckled nervously.

Busted.

The ex-pilot immediately noticed the rat, his expression unsettlingly passive. "What're you doing with that?"

"What's happening, Rick? Get out of the doorway!" someone said from behind him.

Rick moved aside to allow Don through into the garage. Stan had a solid grip on the cage again so Eva and Koji backed off.

"Oh, you caught it already! Good," Don came over to peer at the rat in the cage, then he straightened up. "Why're you both here?"

"Ummm," Koji adjusted his glasses and shared a worried glance with Stan.

"I don't think we're getting that drink, are we?" Stan sighed. "Sorry, Eva."

With that comment Rick and Don turned their attention to her and Eva suddenly felt very put-on-the-spot with the situation. It really wasn't worth trying to lie at this point, so...

Eva kept her eyes down. "This is Moo. She—she's my pet. I've been keeping her here for a week..." she reluctantly admitted.

"A week!?" Don burst. "You kept a rat for a week!? You could get Weil's Disease from a wild animal! How did we not notice?"

"Well, I mean, it's not surprisin' you didn't notice," Rick quipped.

Don folded his arms. "Okay, smart guy, since you're the observant one how did  _you_  not notice for weeks?" he asked sardonically.

Rick's gaze moved over to the rat in the cage Stan was holding and he really didn't have an excuse for how this had slipped by him. He sighed with defeat. "I brought this L on myself."

"I feel like this is our fault," Koji guiltily adjusted his glasses again—a subconscious habit. "She found the rat in our hanger."

"We should've disposed of it back then," Stan concurred.

"Will you guys stop talking about me like i'm not here!?" Eva shouted with frustration.

The adults all turned to look at her after the outburst.

"Rats are dirty animals," Rick tried to explain. "You can't keep a wild one."

Eva huffed. "If you don't like rats why do you call me 'little mouse'?"

"Mice are cute," Rick said factually.

And Eva's cheeks heated up slightly but she wouldn't let a compliment derail her mission. "Rats are cute too! They're just big mice."

"Big, ugly mice maybe," Rick replied. "You ever find a rat in your soup pot? It's not fun."

"How did you used to live..." Eva heard Stan mutter quietly. The redhead gave his captive a suspicious look as if he thought she were the same rat in Rick's story.

"Toss it outside," Rick suggested.

"Preferably not near the house," Don added.

"If we're lucky a cat'll get it."

"No!" Eva cried.

"Weren't we going to release it anyway?" Koji asked with some confusion.

"Yeah, somewhere safe!" Eva replied, desperation beginning to leak into her voice.

"Where exactly?"

She stumbled for an answer. "T-the forest or something…!"

"Outside the city?" Stan asked with some doubt. "We really didn't think this through before we came."

Eva looked from each adult to the next. All of them were against her, even Stan and Koji. They all wanted to hurt Moo. Poor Moo whose entire family had been killed and she'd been left to try and survive alone, to fend for herself in an unwelcoming environment...

"Don't hurt her!" Eva suddenly reacted.

She surged forward, grabbing the cage from Stan's hands who was too surprised to react, but the cage was unexpectedly heavy and unevenly balanced so Eva fumbled with it and dropped it to the floor, falling to her knees with it. The cage door sprang open upon impact and the rat escaped back into the garage.

Eva knelt by the empty cage, staring at it with a frozen expression. She could feel the pressure building up behind her eyes from the oncoming tears and an uncomfortable energy in her stomach that even taking a deep breath couldn't quell.

"Eva..." Don looked down at her with concerned eyes. "Get up."

He encouraged her to stand and when she did he put his arms around her. Eva hid her face in his chest. "I just want to help someone..." she murmured.

"I know. You're a good and very kind girl."

Eva laughed softly, her hands turning to fists and she wanted to shove him for saying something so nice, but also appreciated it on a very emotional level.

"We'll take—what did you call her?"

"Moo."

"We'll take Moo somewhere safe to release her."

Eva stood back with a grin, feeling embarrassed with her outburst. "Yeah! And… sorry, Stan."

"No big," the man gave her a thumbs-up as she helped him right the cage.

"And please don't keep any more wild animals in our house," Don mentioned.

"I won't," Eva smiled and she actually meant it this time.

They spent a considerable amount of the late afternoon and into the evening attempting to recapture Moo—since there were five of them now it actually made things more hectic and difficult.

But they got her.  
  


* * *

 

"This hefty girl better appreciate what we're doing," Rick leaned around from the front passenger seat to look at the rat with distaste.

The next morning Moo was now in a see-through plastic container considering she had previously chewed through the original cardboard box. Eva was forbidden from opening the container and touching the rat so she sat with it on her lap as they drove out of the city.

"I took the day off for this and i'm going to enjoy it."

"You'll enjoy putting a rat in the forest?" Rick asked, misunderstanding Don's intent.

"I'll enjoy not having it in the house." Don looked in the mirror at Eva,"when we're home we're going to clean your workroom from top to bottom."

Eva groaned.

It was an unusual role reversal; this time Rick was the one doing something he didn't like, but going along with it for Eva's sake. He truly wanted nothing to do with the rat and if Don hadn't been the understanding one Moo would've probably just been thrown into the street.

But they were going to make an enjoyable day out from the situation. It wasn't often they left the city so a day spent out in the natural world would be nice. Eva was looking forward to having a picnic and feeding some semi-tame wild animals; she'd always had a particular soft spot for deer.

But first came Moo. They stopped at a random clearing.

Eva reluctantly got out of the car and brought the container up to eye level. Moo was so much more healthy and truly alive compared to how she had originally looked and Eva felt a swell of pride. Brushing the plastic as if she were stroking the rat she put the box on the floor and removed the lid.

She watched Moo run into the thicket, satisfied that she'd given the rat a good start in life.

"Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Rick."

Don smiled, a smile that reached his eyes, and despite himself, Rick smiled too. He put a hand on Eva's head to ruffle her hair as a reconciliation between them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I wonder what rat tastes like...”  
> “Horrible,” Don muttered.  
> “What?” Surely Stan had misheard.  
> “Nothing.”
> 
> Don totally killed and ate a rat as a hobo.


	26. Broadcasting Live!

Running household chores sucked, Eva looked at the list she had been given.

On the one hand she was happy that she could finally do such mundane things and complain about it like a normal teenager, but also it  _sucked_. It was a complex mix of emotions she still felt about some of the simplest things in her life as she blasted across the neighbourhood on her rocket-seat. The amount of complaints she got from their stuffy neighbours about the noise was ridiculous, but Don had a new insult ready for each person that called about it.

As she came to the demarcation zone of their neighbourhood which advertised the controlling 'helpful' HOA (that Rick hated because they wouldn't let him put a modest-sized windmill in the garden, and Eva hated because they wouldn't let her put a ~~massive~~ modest-sized leviathan statue up in their new pond), she pulled the brakes.

They wouldn't work.

She was a meticulous builder and she treasured this rocket-seat as much as her original one. Maybe more, because this time she'd had the freedom to improve upon it. Now that she didn't have to hide what she was creating, or rely on the few kinds souls who'd let packages through the school mail, she'd made huge strides in design and functionality of the vehicle. She'd know if it was malfunctioning and previous to this it was  _not_.

But the leavers wouldn't budge when she pulled them with all her strength and she was still travelling forwards. If she didn't stop she's ride right out into open traffic! This wasn't how she'd expected her life to end, after all she'd endured during the Great Race—getting her dad back, meeting Rick, Jordan and Aikka, learning the truth to her mother's death—only to be vaulted over a car windshield and lay broken in the street...

But her rocket-seat jerked and dodged between the cars drawing screams and yells from drivers as it went. Desperately she fiddled with the controls, turning the steering column this way and that not even caring what it would do should she unexpectedly regain control. Her rocket-seat had well-and-truly gone wild!

It was almost as if someone was manually controlling it.

An emoji of a mischievous cat appeared on the display of the homemade dadshboard. Eva would recognise that infuriating mascot anywhere.

"Para Dice!"

"I've come to take my revenge, n'yahahaha~" a digitised voice sounded from the speakers.

"Whoaaa! Stop it!" Gripping the handles of the rocket-seat Eva clung on for dear life. The out of control homemade vehicle was travelling far too quickly for her to safely jump off, even if she had been wearing a helmet.

"N'yahahaha! Let's see you beat me in a race with a craft you can't control!"

The uncontrollable rocket-seat blasted across town on its way somewhere and there was nothing she could do to regain control.

Her hi-jacked vehicle took her deeper into the heart of the city and into areas where such behaviour wouldn't be tolerated. She recognised the street she was careening down as the street that housed the various alien embassies on Earth.

The familiar Nourasian embassy quickly came into view and just as she thought that might be the final destination the rocket-seat jerked towards the building across the road.

"Sorry!" Eva shouted to the guard at the door as the rocket-seat crashed through the doorway and almost took the poor person's head off with it. The vehicle slammed and ricocheted into the walls on the inside of the building as it continued on to its destination up a flight of stairs.

As it travelled through an open door Eva yelped when the rocket-seat abruptly came to a halt, finally throwing her free and into one of the embassy rooms. She could hear commotion from the building's occupants approaching but the door behind her shut by itself before anyone could come investigate.

The culprit was waiting for her in the darkened room with the blinds down, sitting amongst a junk pile of electronics of both Earth and presumably Weitan design with a sneaky-smug expression on their face.

Lifting herself up onto her elbows Eva rubbed her sore shoulder. It felt like she'd been thrown around in a tumble-dryer for an hour. She growled, "Para Dice, you're such a little rat!"

"I'm a cute kitty, meow~" the young alien tittered. "Let's see how cute you Earthlings think I am, huh?"

In an instant Para Dice was streaming the inside of her room onto all the TVs, phones and electronic billboards across the entire city. Still laying on the floor Eva was certain her face that was being broadcast looked just as shocked as all the other citizens of the city who were watching the display in return.

"Nehehe~ Hiya, world! Your primitive Earth technology was so easy to hack!" Para Dice giggled haughtily. "I put a big-big virus in your online grid so if you don't tell me how cute I am i'll  _KAPOW_  your internet~!"

Before she could respond Eva's phone began ringing immediately. Oh, no, the caller ID...

" _Eva!! Where are you!? What_ _'_ _re you doing!?"_  Don's voice screamed over the line when she answered.  _"Get back home immediately!!"_

She held the phone away from her ear.

"Dad, please—"

" _You're on all the TVs, little mouse,"_ a calmer voice interrupted with Don now shouting in the background. Eva could imagine Rick physically holding him back at arms length.

"Rick, can you get Dad to chill out? I'm not in danger, I'm," she sighed with annoyance, "playing with Para Dice."

" _Yeah, we figured that,"_  Rick replied wryly.

Turning her back to the screen and Para Dice, Eva cupped a hand around her mouth and the phone. "She's just a little brat. It's fine, i'll be back soon."

" _Did you get that concrete degreaser yet?"_

"Nooo," Eva whined quietly. "Everyone can hear, Rick, don't..."

" _'cos the garage floor is—well, it's getting worse let's just say tha—ow!"_  Rick grunted and Don got control of the phone again.

" _You'll be in a lot of trouble if you don't come back home safely, young lady!"_

That was kind of an oxymoron, Eva rolled her eyes. "It's okay, Dad, i'll be back soon, don't worry."

" _E—"_

She hung up; she'd deal with the scolding she's get later for not letting her dad say his piece. The phone rang again but she put it on silent—right now everything was being broadcast live so she had to be careful.

"What're you up to?" Eva cleared her throat as she turned back around. Para Dice was watching her with a snarky expression.

"We'll play a little game!" she giggled. "If you win I won't make your internet go boom!"

"And if you win?" Which wouldn't be happening.

Para Dice threw her paws up with a shrill laugh. "I'll turn you all into kitty avatars! Then you'll all be just as cute as me, meow~!"

"I'm more of a dog person," Eva replied flippantly.

"What's a 'dog'?" Para Dice cocked her head.

Why the hell was she agreeing to this anyway? Last time she'd played a game from Para Dice it had ended badly and put Stan and Koji into a crunch to repair the  _Whizzing Arrow_ before their race. Well, if she were really doing this then she'd need to know what was actually going on this time. No tricks.

"What's the game? The rules?" she asked.

"It's Catris!" Para Dice announced, really hamming it up for the audience. "It's an advanced Weitan game! Different shaped blocks fall and you gotta make a line with them so that they disappear! If the blocks reach the top of the board you lose, n'yahaha!"

Eva took a moment. "So Tetris."

"Nooo!" Para Dice wailed. "It's an advanced and  _suuuuper_  hard classic Weitan game! Does this 'Tetris' have a cute cat mascot, meow?"

"Maybe there's a version with a cat?" Eva shrugged, picking up the spare controller. "This is such an old Earth game."

"No! Catris!" Para Dice began throwing a tantrum as the game started up.

It looked exactly like Tetris but it had an admittedly cute digital cat mascot that bounced around the screen cheering both players to victory. The game itself was a large projection in the room so that both Eva and Para Dice  _and_  the citizens of the city could all watch.

Eva gripped her controller with determination. "For humanity. And the internet," she muttered.

"I was born with a gamepad in my paw! Meow!" Para Dice laughed.

And Eva almost wanted to say that Para Dice  _was_  a gamepad but maybe that wasn't acceptable smack talk to make, so instead she'd just concentrate on Catris—beating Para Dice at her own game would be the sweetest of victories.

"Don't forget to like, subscribe and leave a comment if you're ready for Earth to lose~" Para Dice winked for the camera.

Blocks began to fall to some funky music and the furious pounding on the room door.

Eva couldn't afford to take her eyes from the large projection as Para Dice played the game like it was an extension of herself. The Weitan girl giggled giddily when she'd attack Eva and rain unbreakable blocks down on her, and then let out a shrill cry of distress whenever Eva retaliated in kind.

Before long Eva's side of the screen began to fill with more colourful blocks faster than she could clear them as the game dragged on. Risking an aside glance she noticed that Para Dice had a sneaky grin displayed on her head-screen and with a confident cackle and a flourish of her paws the Weitan unleashed a huge attack!

But Eva had been saving a defensive buff for such an occasion and deployed it, reflecting the attack back onto her opponent.

" _Merwarr_!" Para Dice shouted with frustration.

Relieved gasps from the citizens of the city filled the room putting Eva on edge a little. Phew, that was a close one!

The banging on the locked door stopped for a suspiciously long while then the door itself was thrown from its hinges into the room with a mighty  **CRASH**. An older Weitan woman occupied the now vacant doorframe, her expression so furious Eva could feel it in her bones even though it wasn't directed at her.

"Para! Dice! My kitten!" the petname did nothing to disguise the dangerousness of the alien's tone. " _Did you invite a friend over?"_

" _MOM, NO_! You can't do this to me!" Para Dice began throwing a tantrum. "I'm live! Get out, this is my  _room!_!"

Eva noticed the human door guard she'd almost run over and some other miscellaneous embassy staff behind the woman watching on with interest. She had been too occupied trying to stay on her rocket-seat at the time but now she noticed the inside of the building had been absolutely wreaked by the incident.

"This is the embassy, sweetie," the older Weitan swatted her daughter on the head with a large paw causing the young girl to whine. "What have I told you about playing with lesser alien's technology?" she lectured.

"That I have to let them develop at their own pace..." Para Dice sulked.

And Eva honestly didn't know whether to be offended on humanity's behalf or not. One of the biggest empires in the Milky Way and they were being dunked on by some cats with phat monitors for heads.

"Good girl. Your father is finishing up his business and when he's done we  _will_  be having strict words about this incident."

Para Dice's ears drooped with submission. "Yes, Mom."

The older Weitan confiscated the laptop from her daughter and all the screens in the room mercifully shorted out ending the game and the broadcast. Privacy at last. The whole city had seen her face—Eva would never live this down! And she hadn't even been allowed to publicly beat Para Dice at her own game either!

"Oh, but i'm so happy you've made a friend," the Weitan mother clasped her paws with delight.

How did Eva keep making these supposed 'friends'? First Arnaldo Jr. Jr. and now Para Dice. Adults just kept assigning friends to her.

"Would you like to stay for lunch, dear?" the Weitan had such a hopeful expression displayed on her screen at the prospect but Eva really would have to get home with some degreaser otherwise she'd be quarantined from the garage.

"Sorry, uh, Mrs Para Dice's Mom. I have to get home soon," she said but the mother kept on looking at her. "It's been… a day."

"That's a shame. Next time we're on Earth it would be lovely to have you visit again…?"

"Eva," she provided.

The expression on the older Weitan's monitor turned to a joyous one. "Eva! Wonderful! If you have to leave soon please allow me to send you off with a treat for your trouble."

The mother hurried out of the room leaving Eva with a very sullen Para Dice. Recently she was seeing a whole brand new side to some of the characters she'd met during the Great Race. She'd have never imagined life could become this interesting back during her time at Stern.

"Have your dumb vehicle back," Para Dice grumpily indicated the rocket-seat. "What is it anyway?"

Eva quickly retrieved her vehicle with huge relief. "It's a rocket-seat. I built it myself."

Putting both paws to her huge head, Para Dice gasped dramatically. "You're a genius too!?" She seemed genuinely impressed and interested now; this girl's moods shifted so quickly.

"I dunno about that..." Eva blushed.

The Weitan bobbed her head, narrowing her eyes as well. "Well, I have to say it was a  _biiit_  more difficult to hack than most of the junk on this planet, so..."

That was probably a compliment. Coming from a spoilt, sheltered genius child it was probably a  _huge_  compliment. Eva had always had a natural feel for machines though not for programming and she suspected it was the reverse for Para Dice. Either way, she would definitely be asking Koji to remove the wireless capabilities her rocket-seat had.

"It looks fun..." the Weitan shyly twisted her leg back-and-forth.

Not too subtle, Eva thought.

"If you promise not to mess with my stuff again i'll give you a ride."

"YAY!" The girl jumped up and down with joy. "I'm so happy you're not a bad loser 'coz I beat you!"

"You didn't beat m—ugh," Eva sighed. It really wasn't worth arguing with this girl even if she  _was_  completely wrong and Eva had  _not_  lost anything. "I have to go home now, Dad's gonna bite my head off."

"Oh, same!" Para Dice chirped. "Well, not literally 'coz that would be weird. Is that a thing humans do? Doesn't seem to make any evolutionary sense."

Eva gave up. "Nevermind!"

"Come play with me again! It's been fun!" Para Dice dismissed her and waved goodbye enthusiastically.

Just shaking her head at the attitude of the young alien girl, Eva began dragging her rocket-seat out of the room when the older Weitan woman reappeared and carried it for her. Eva gaped at how easily the mother lifted the vehicle; Para Dice had really not been a very good representative character of her people.

"Thank you for playing with my daughter," the mother said kindly.

Eva became unstuck. "N-no problem…?"

"She has this habit of running away because she thinks she's so much smarter than her poor old mommy and daddy but she'd not survive one dang hour by herself."

It wasn't clear if Para Dice's parents knew that she'd run away to join the Great Race on Alwas, but running away in general seemed to be a recurring thing. Eva kept her mouth shut for an old opponent she suddenly felt a minor kinship with.

Before she left the embassy building Para Dice's mother gave her a modest box of some small, round biscuits that smelt like fish. She wasn't sure how Weitans would eat these without actual mouths and she wasn't sure if she'd actually eat them herself or not. Maybe Clark would like them...

"Eva?"

Aikka was standing on the doorstep to the adjacent Nourasian embassy accompanied by Canaan. He had some riding tackle with him so he'd probably been out of the city visiting G'dar.

"You look tired," he observed with some confusion.

"Long story," she simply shook her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now i'm ALLLLLL out of chapters so if you want more imma gotta bitch about wanting comments. Goodbyeee.


End file.
